Teacher's Pet
by Pagan-Phoenix
Summary: Complete. Paige as a teacher in Magic School. She is being stalked by a mysterious cloaked figure. Will she be able to find out who this figure is before it finally gets to her? Update: 22 chapters up. R & R.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

"Give me my notebook back, Nicholas, or I'm gonna tell!" a shrill voice called out.

"Oooh," the fifteen-year old Nicholas taunted, "I'm so scared, the teacher's pet is going to tell." He laughed at his own little joke, and threw the small, red notebook labeled Clyde into the air. "Come and get it, Clyde." He sneered, his voice laden with sarcasm and faux sweetness.

Clyde jumped from his seat and lunged forward, intending to catch the notebook as it fell down on the ground; but Nicholas was bigger than him, in fact, everyone in the room was bigger than his five feet tall frame. _I'll get you for this Nicholas_, he thought angrily. Try as he might, Clyde couldn't catch the notebook as it flew over Nicholas' head. Up and down, up and down, his body bobbed through the air in a futile attempt to catch his notebook. He looked around at his other classmates, trying to get some help, but he was very disappointed to see them laughing along with Nicholas. "Give it back, Nicholas," he screamed, his shrill, little voice drowned by the incessant roar of laughter of his classmates. Clyde watched as Nicholas threw the notebook one more time into the air; with one final attempt, he dashed upward, and grabbed the notebook by its cover. He pulled with all his might, ignoring Nicholas' immense strength. He tugged and pulled, but he was no match for Nicholas' bulk.

Nicholas yanked the notebook on the notebook as well. Clyde and Nicholas tugged on the notebook, until rip the red notebook was torn in two. The entire classroom broke into another round of laughter, and Clyde stared angrily at Nicholas.

Outside the door, a woman was standing, sighing. Hearing the thunderous roar of laughter from inside, she tried pinching herself, as if trying to wake herself from a horrible nightmare. Confirming that she wasn't awake, she gave in to defeat and sighed. She lolled her head from side to side, and read the gold sign drilled on the wall absent-mindedly. _Seventh Grade- Intermediate Spell Casting. _And below the gold sign, another smaller one was shining below it, _Handled by Professor Paige Halliwell._ She pinched herself again, _Oh please, let this be another dream._ She wished in vain, as she only succeeded in hurting herself. "Sigh," she muttered, "Seventh grade? More like point-seventh grade." Steeling herself, Paige turned the doorknob, and pushed the door as hard as she could.

The entire class stopped laughing. Some students rushed to return to their assigned seats, while some looked down at their books and pretended to read. Nicholas hurriedly slid down to his seat and threw Clyde's notebook to his face. "Oh hey, good morning, Miss Halliwell," he greeted Paige with a fake smile plastered on his face.

Paige walked over to the front of the class and laid her books on her desk. She glared at the class, her eyes sending her message loud and clear- I'm losing my patience with all of you. Her angry eyes washed over the entire class, causing all the students to stiffen up. Her eyes darted from one student to the next, and her gaze finally stopped at Nicholas. "What happened here?" Her gaze hardened, as she saw Clyde slink back into his chair, mending his torn notebook.

"What?" Nicholas smiled sweetly, "Nothin', Miss Halliwell, I swear. I was just playing with my little friend, Clyde, over there." He snickered, his grin broadening.

She turned her attention from Nicholas to Clyde, and softening her tone, "What happened here, Clyde?" She looks sympathetically at the skinny fourteen-year old. Clyde was an exceptional student, a straight A student, and a skilled Conjurer; yet he was always alone, a loner, as Paige called him. But he was the only one among her thirty-two students who she liked the best, which made him the center of attention. Paige knew better than to play favorites, but Clyde was the only student listened to her, who paid attention.

Clyde looked at Paige, and pointed at Nicholas. "Miss Halliwell, Nicholas harassed me and he," he paused and lifted his notebook for everyone to see, "tore my notebook, Miss." He sniffed, and for a minute, Paige thought that he was going to cry.

Paige stared at Nicholas again, who was holding has hands out in defense, "What have you got to say for yourself, Nicholas?" She strode angrily to Nicholas' desk and crossed her hands over her chest. "Well?"

"I didn't do nothin'!" He spat out, glaring at Clyde.

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" Paige said. She thrust her hand out and motioned, "Nicholas, Detention!" Paige watched as her student disappeared in blue and white orbs. She looked at her students boldly, "Now, does anyone else want to mess with me?"

All the students stared at her in shock, too afraid to protest.

"Good," Paige smiled, a huge satisfied grin plastered on her face. "Now, get your manuals out," she instructed, "and turn to page 372, _Intermediate Spells for the Teenaged Witch._ I want you to read this, and after half an hour, we'll be having a short quiz."

Paige rolled her eyes as her students moaned and groaned in unison, signaling their protest. She turned her back on her students, and began to walk toward her desk. Without turning her head, she declared, "I saw that, Estella. Stick your tongue out at me one more time and I'll be giving you twenty demerits." She grabbed the edge of her desk as she neared it and eagerly sat down on her chair. She rubbed her throbbing temples as she took a quick glance at the group of students in front of her, "Oi, this is going to be another long day." She rubbed her head harder as her headache pounded on her brain.

She closed her strained eyes for a second, and when she opened them, there was an apple sitting on her desk. Used to this, she scanned the room and looked at Clyde, who was smiling at her. She smiled back, and mouthed a pleased "thank you" to her student, before slumping into her chair and biting into the magically conjured apple.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: thanks for the kind words, Succubus69 and freakinred! you two are so wonderful! thanks i have a question, how do you accept anonymous reviews? thanks! sorry for the newbie question :) Blessed Be_

Chapter 2

Paige turned the knob of the door labeled _Paige Halliwell: Assistant Headmistress_. She beamed proudly as she read the golden sign that hung on the door of her office. As she walked into the spacious room, the memory of how she became assistant headmistress surfaced, and she smiled.

It was a tense autumn afternoon, and the Charmed Ones just came out of yet another magical ordeal. Piper and Leo was possessed by the Hindu Deities, Shakti and Shiva respectively; and not finding a solution in the Book of Shadows, Paige then decided to go to the Magic School to find a spell to "de-god" her elder sister and their Elder. However, when she got there, she found books missing from the shelves and boxes lying on the floor- there were boxes labeled _Spells_ _and_ _Potions for the Beginner Witch_, _The History of Magic, Conjuring Creatures 101_, and _Basic Charms and Talismans._ She looked around to see Mrs. Winterbourne and a handful of other teachers pulling magical texts and tomes from shelves and boxing them up.

"What's going on in here?" she asked quite sternly.

"Isn't it obvious?" a male teacher retorted, "We're closing down the school!"

"B...but..." Paige stammered, "But, why? Who's going to teach the next generation of witches? How will they learn good magic if you close down the school?"

"Sigh," Mrs. Winterbourne stopped packing books and finally turned to Paige, "We share your concerns, Paige, we really do...but, without Gideon, there's no one left to take care of the school. Look, like him or not, Gideon was the only Elder who was really passionate about maintaining the school." Mrs. Winterbourne gingerly took Paige's hands in hers, and sympathetically added, "I know how zealous you are about the Magic School, Paige. I remember how you love teaching. But, without Gideon, there's no one left to fight for the school. There's nothing much we can do. I'm sorry." Reluctantly, she left Paige to wonder about that as she returned to packing more books.

"Not while I'm still around," and with that, she hurriedly orbed out, reappearing in- the Elder-land (Up There). Steadying herself, Paige called out to the Elders, hoping to let them see the importance and significance of the Magic School in the magical community. Squinting against the brightness, Paige waited for her eyes to adjust to her new surroundings.

"Click-clack," a Whitelighter squealed as she saw a Charmed One in their sanctuary. "What are you doing here?" she asked her in English.

"Oh...I...I need to see the Elders," she said, "Please! Now! It's urgent!"

"Right away then!" the Whitelighter answered, sensing the urgency in Paige's voice. Running toward the set of huge golden doors, the Whitelighter left Paige in search of an Elder.

Minutes later, the Whitelighter walked toward Paige with an Elder behind her.

"Elder!" Paige exclaimed.

"What is this about, Charmed One?" the Elder asked her, looking at Paige from beneath her robes.

"It's about the Magic School, Elder," Paige stuttered, "You can't let the school close down, you MUST not let it close down."

"You dare tell us what we can or cannot do, Halliwell witch?" the Elder looked at her severely, clearly surprised at Paige's gall and chutzpah. "Our word is law, witch, do not forget that."

"I...I mean no disrespect Elder," Paige cried out in desperation, "but I beg you to reconsider your decision about the school. The school plays an important role in the magical community...w...without it, the next generation of witches wont have any place to learn their Craft! Please, listen to reason!"

The Elder in front of Paige scratched her chin, thinking about what Paige just said. "Very well," the Elder said, considering what she just heard, "I will convene with the other Elders. Elizabeth," she motioned for the young Whitelighter, "we wish to be undisturbed." She glanced at Paige and gave her a quick nod. Turning around, she hurriedly walked over to the golden doors from which she came out of earlier.

"And she finally came out of those doors and agreed to keep the school open," Paige smiled proudly. "IF and only IF you can run the school smoothly, AND you must retain the name Halliwell, for this is what indicates that you are a Charmed One." The conditions of the Elder echoed in Paige's ears. She remembered protesting to the Elders, that she was _Halliwell-Matthews_, but the Elders' decision remained. "Fine, I'll be Miss Halliwell." Paige threw her arms up in defeat.

"Let's just hope my class doesn't make me think of going back to the past and changing my decision."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: thank you so much Succubus :) here's another update, hope you'll like it!_

Chapter 3

Returning back from her nostalgia, Paige slumped down on her chair, the stress from teaching her class taking its toll on her. She rubbed her tired eyes, and drew in a sharp breath. Stifling the urge to summon Mr. Right, Paige waved her hands over her table instead, where a stack of test papers magically appeared.

Retreating into the comforts of her chair, Paige slinked back and took her red pen from her desk drawer. As she yanked the wooden drawer open, her eyes fell on a framed photograph of her and her two sisters from behind the high stack of unmarked test papers.

She grinned, taking the picture frame from her desk, and grasped it firmly in front of her. "Piper, Phoebe," she whispered, a hint of longing and sadness in her voice. She cast a tired look at the stack of unmarked test papers lying on top of her desk, and then glanced again at the framed picture; deciding between finishing her work and visiting her sisters.

She looked at the test papers once more, and finally decided. "Screw it, I'm going home!" she exclaimed excitedly. Closing her eyes, she focused on the image of Halliwell Manor, fondly remembering the house's warm ambience, and concentrated until she sensed the familiar feeling of her body dissolving into tiny blue and white orbs.

Within seconds, her body reappeared in a brilliant show of blue and white orbs in the Sun Room of the Manor. She opened her eyes, excitedly taking in her surroundings, and squealed in delight. "I'm home!" she exclaimed to herself.

Paige turned her head as the sound of laughter echoed throughout the Manor. She listened carefully, and followed the jovial sound- the roars of laughter were coming from the living room. She hurried to the living room, where she found Piper resting on the couch, watching an old re-run of a Harry Potter movie on cable television. Paige noticed the letters **WB** blazed on the left-hand screen of their television; looking up from the huge white logo, Paige saw a young red-haired wizard casting a spell using his wand.

Upon seeing this, Piper burst into another fit of laughter.

Puzzled as to why Piper would laugh at a wizard casting spells when she herself was a witch, Paige entered the living room and called out to her eldest sister, "What's so funny, Piper?"

Hearing her youngest sister's voice, Piper turned around in surprise and jumped from her seat. "Paige! You're home!" Piper rushed to where her sister stood and hugged her tightly. "It's been so long! How are you? How's the school? Have you been eating well?" Piper began bombarding Paige with questions, while she hugged her tighter and tighter.

"Ow!" Paige screamed, cutting Piper's questions, "You're crushing my ribs, Piper."

"Whoops!" Piper finally released her hold on Paige. "I'm sorry, Paige, but it's been five whole months since you've been here! How are you? We've missed you so much!" Piper looked at Paige once more and smiled, happy to see her sister again.

"I've missed you so much, too!" Paige answered cheerfully, returning Piper's warm smile. She was looking at Piper, memorizing her eldest sister's features, comparing them with the image of Piper five months ago.

Paige squinted, scrutinizing Piper's face thoroughly, and snapped, "I knew it! I knew there was something new with you!" Paige detected a change in Piper's face the moment she turned around from her chair and ran to her, but she just could not place her finger on it.

Piper jumped, this time in shock, as Paige suddenly shouted unexpectedly. "Goodness, Paige! You made my heart skip a beat! What? What is it?"

"There," Paige said matter-of-factly as she pointed to Piper's cheek. Paige noticed a slight difference in Piper's facial skin tone when her elder sister ran to her and hugged her. It was as if Piper had applied on too much make-up on one side of her cheek to cover something- something that Paige could not distinguish, something that Piper was trying her best to hide from Paige. "What's that on your face?"

Paige saw Piper grimace, a facial expression that the sisters equated for "Oops, busted." But, Piper decided to play hardball and innocently asked, "What? Haven't you seen make-up before?"

Paige stared at Piper accusingly, crossing her arms over her shoulders. "Make-up? Yes. A successful lie coming from you right now? No. Now what are you hiding behind that make-up? Don't make me use a Truth spell on you," Paige threatened.

"Nothing, Paige! I'm not hiding anything," Piper repeated exasperatedly, though her previously defiant look softened and her gaze lingered on the floor, which added to Paige's rising suspicions.

"Oh, really?" Paige pressed on, "then what do you call this?" She held her hands out, an image of a towel appearing in her mind, and called out, "Towel!" Suddenly, a towel magically orbed from the laundry-room and materialized into Paige's hands. Before Piper could react, Paige threw herself forward at her eldest sister, using all of her weight to pin her. Her hand grabbed Piper's head and held it firm, and with her other hand, used the damp towel to wipe her sister's face. She wiped a little too harshly and Piper winced in pain, pushing Paige back instinctively.

"Ow! What was that for?" Piper said, rubbing the sore red spot on her face where Paige rubbed it too fiercely. As she continued to massage her cheek softly, the make-up cleared and the redness of her face slowly faded, exposing a long scar embedded on her once smooth face.

Paige gasped as her eyes fell on Piper's cheek. "Piper! Wh...what happened to your face? Who did that? When did you get that?" Paige's eyes bulged from her eye-sockets, as it was her turn to bombard Piper with her own set of questions.

Piper covered her ears as Paige continued to ask her more questions about the mysterious scar, and slumped back down on the couch, waiting for Paige to finish. "Done?" Piper asked her youngest sister as she saw her lips stop moving. Reluctantly, she withdrew her hands from her ears and looked at Paige.

Paige stopped talking and nodded her head. "So, what happened?"

Piper turned her head up from the couch and shook her head, as if trying to forget a hurtful memory. "A lot of things apparently," Piper replied and sighed. She looked at Paige and tried to force a smile. "Ever heard of the Witch Huntress?" Piper asked, referring to the demon that attacked the Manor a couple of weeks before.

"The Witch Huntress?" Paige cringed; the mere mention of the demon's name sent shivers down her spine. She shivered as she remembered the information she had collected about the demon from her WitchCraft studies. Paige slowly discerned to Piper what information she had on the demon, "The Witch Huntress is an upper level demon with sharp claws that are highly lethal to witches. She kills and drains the powers of witches on..." Paige paused, and quickly realized something, "on the night of the blue moon...and the blue moon was..."

"...two weeks ago," Piper completed Paige's sentence and smiled weakly.

Paige's eyes widened, "Oh my Goddess, Piper! I am so, so sorry! I wasn't here to help you vanquish the demon!" Her eyes looked apologetically at Piper. "It...my...I was so caught up with all the test paper checking and all the research in Magic School...I am so sorry, Piper. Do you want me to help you vanquish the demon now? Because I know just the perfect spell to vanquish her sorry ass," Paige explained, trying to make up for her absence.

"No need, Miss-I-am-so-busy-with-Magic-School," Piper joked half-heartedly, alleviating the situation. "We already took care of her sorry little ass." She winked and grinned triumphantly at Paige, remembering the fiery vanquish in the Halliwell attic two weeks ago. "Along with two bounty hunters, Trok Demons, a couple of delusional warlocks who thought that they could take on the Charmed Ones," Piper said as she slowly lifted her fingers, ticking her mental checklist of the demons that had been vanquished for the last five months since Paige was in the Manor. Piper was about to continue to recount the various vanquishes that happened when the younger Halliwell interrupted.

"Wait, hold on a sec," Paige said, "Stop and rewind." She stared at Piper as if she were the one who was delusional. "You already vanquished the Huntress? How? You can't vanquish the Witch Huntress without the Power of Three, remember?" Paige looked at her sister, checking for signs of stress and fatigue.

Piper nodded, "You're right, well, sort of." Piper closed her eyes and tried to remember the vanquish that happened a fortnight ago. "Actually, Paige, we found another way to vanquish the Witch Huntress."

"Another way?" Paige's eyes widened again, this time in sheer disbelief. "How?"

"Well, according to the Book of Shadows, the Witch Huntress can indeed be vanquished by the Power of Three," Piper said, the entry of the Witch Huntress from the Halliwell Book of Shadows popping immediately into her mind. "But, there was one more piece of information you missed out on. A very crucial piece of information. Apparently, the Witch Huntress has another weakness besides the Power of Three- the Undead." Piper paused and looked at Paige, waiting for any reaction or response.

Paige blinked rapidly, obviously confused with what Piper had just told her. "Come again? Did you just say _the Undead?_ As in ghosts?" she asked curiously, a million questions running around her head. "Where and how did you get a ghost to help you? As far as I can remember, most ghosts are not very well known for their charity."

"Didn't have to find one," Piper shrugged nonchalantly, "we had Phoebe."

Paige looked at her sister incredulously, "Phoebe? What do you mean?"

Piper was about to explain to Paige how Phoebe had stabbed herself with an athame in order for her to turn into a ghost, when the house shook with an intense vibration. Piper and Paige heard a loud explosion that came from the attic. Before the two Charmed Ones could react, another loud explosion followed, shaking the entire Manor, and both witches fell on their feet. "The hell!" Piper screamed out, as she hurriedly got up to her feet and helped Paige get up.

Rushing to get to the attic, Piper grabbed Paige's arm as they ran to the stairs, taking two steps at a time. As they got to the top ring of the stairs, Piper thrust her arms out and blew the rickety door of the attic. "Phoebe!" she screamed out worriedly as she saw smoke streaming out of the attic. "Phoebe!" she called out again.

Waving her hands in front of her rapidly, Paige entered the attic with Piper, calling out to her other sister. "Phoe cough cough!" The thick smoke that streamed out of the attic assaulted Paige's eyes the moment she stepped inside, sending a burning sensation to her eyes. Her eyes welled up with tears and her vision clouded; she walked blindly around the attic, fumbling around to find her sister, blinking madly. She coughed as the smoke forced its way into Paige's nose, and constricted her throat. cough cough

A gust of wind suddenly breezed its way into the attic from a broken stain-glassed window, blowing the black vapor out of the antique-laden room, leaving ashes and soot inside the attic that marred the furniture and antiques with a black smudges.

In the center of the tousled room in between blown up antique tables stood Phoebe, face covered with soot, grinning sheepishly. "Hey, Piper!" she said as she held up a glass vial overflowing with a bubbling greenish-blue liquid on her right hand, and a glass vial half-full with a reddish liquid on her left. She turned her head and was surprised to see her younger sister standing beside Piper. "Paige! What a surprise! I have news for ya, never mix Mandrake root with Dragon's Blood, it'll blow you away!"

With that, the two glass vials slipped from Phoebe's grip, and she slumped to the floor, unconscious, lying in between the two potion puddles.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: hi succubus! sorry for the confusion. im editing chapter 5 and look down below, i added these lines..."reached for the door and went out into the Great Hall, oblivious..." i hope this clears things up :) Chapter 6 will be up soon :)_

"Phoebe!" Paige called out in surprise as her sister fainted to the floor. "Piper! P...Piper!" She began to panic and looked at her eldest sister for help. "Piper!"

Paige waited worriedly as Piper opened her mouth to call for someone. She stared anxiously at the ceiling, expecting Leo to come down in a shower of blue and white orbs and heal her sister. However, she recoiled in shock, when she heard Piper call out another person's name- a woman's name.

"Melissa! MELISSA!" Piper screamed to the heavens, calling out another person's name. "MELISSA! Get down here this instant!"

Paige looked at Piper, a confused glimmer burning in her brown eyes. She scanned Piper for answers, and when Piper saw the baffled look on her sister's face, she opened her mouth to explain. But before any sound could escape from Piper's mouth, a shower of blue and white orbs came from nowhere, solidifying hurriedly into a plump woman with brown hair, in her mid-twenties.

"Piper?" the female Whitelighter looked at Piper, apprehension in her eyes, "What's going on?"

"Phoebe!" Piper replied a little too sternly, pointing at her unconscious sister, "heal her!"

Nodding, the Whitelighter followed Piper's orders and rushed quickly to Phoebe's side, and hurriedly knelt beside her. She laid her hands carefully on her charge's forehead, where a shard of glass from the broken glass vial had cut her, and waited for her healing energies to flow. Within seconds, the Whitelighter's hands glowed golden, and the blood from Phoebe's forehead disappeared, the wound sealing itself magically.

Phoebe opened her eyes, squinting against the sunlight that had poured in from the stained-glass window of the attic. She eyes soon became adjusted to the brightness, and she found herself staring face-to-face with a familiar face.

"Hey, Melissa," Phoebe said as she sluggishly pulled herself to her feet, "Thanks for the save!" She staggered backward and almost lost her balance, when the young Whitelighter caught her and helped her balance.

"No problem, Phoebe," the Whitelighter smiled softly at Phoebe, "Just doing my job."

Phoebe smiled back and looked at the other two people in the attic. She remembered briefly seeing her youngest sister before everything went shaky and she blacked out. She excitedly looked around the room, forcing her vision to focus, the hazy images around her suddenly becoming clearer, more centered.

"Paige!" Phoebe screamed in delight, "It IS you! I thought I had hallucinated when I saw you! You know, what with all the potion fumes and stuff." She rushed to Paige and gave her a quick hug, taking in her scent. Pulling back gently, she asked, "What brings you here, sis? I thought you were supposed to be teaching at Magic School, you know, be Super-Teacher Paige Matthews."

Paige smiled at Phoebe's remark and answered, holding her sister's hand firmly in hers, "I did... I mean, I am. I'm supposed to be there, you know, teaching and stuff, but I really missed you guys so much! Five months is a long time!" Paige paused and continued, "And apparently, I've missed out on a lot," she added and nodded toward the new Whitelighter's direction.

Melissa, the new Whitelighter, bowed her head politely, waiting for her to be introduced to Paige.

Phoebe glanced over her shoulder and looked back at Paige. "OH! Right! Piper hasn't told you yet?" She gave Piper a hard look that said "Why didn't you fill our youngest sister in on what's happening?"

Piper threw her hands up in mock defeat, "Hey, I'm sorry! But I was in the process of telling her when you single-handedly blew up the entire attic! So technically, it was your fault." She stuck her tongue out playfully at Phoebe, and joined her sisters, putting her hand on Paige's shoulder.

Paige laughed at Piper's little joke, a broad grin spreading on her lips. "So, anyone mind telling me what's going on? Or do I have to blow something up too to get some answers around here?" She kidded along, missing the way she and sisters used to joke and play around.

"Whoa there, sister," Piper removed her hand from Paige's shoulder and slapped her back, "One Femme Nikita sister is enough, I don't want you turning Rambo on us, too!"

Phoebe stared at Piper and pouted her lips. "Hey! I resent that!"

The three sisters burst out laughing, and Melissa tried her best to stifle a giggle.

Finally, the three sisters stopped laughing. Phoebe turned her head and motioned for the Whitelighter to come closer. "Paige, meet Melissa, our new Whitelighter. Melissa, Paige. Paige, Melissa."

Melissa courteously extended her arm and introduced herself, "Nice to have finally meet you, Paige! I've been waiting so long to meet you!" She smiled eagerly as Paige took her hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, too, Melissa," Paige forced a smile. She shook the Whitelighter's hand curtly and turned to her sisters. She whispered, "New Whitelighter?"

Piper's head nodded and confirmed Paige's question. "Yeah. She's the newest addition to the family. First, there was George, then Maria, then Markus, then Jeffrey, and then Nina, and now, there's Melissa."

Paige lifted her fingers and counted, "Wait a minute, you mean to say there had been at least five Whitelighters before her?" Paige's eyes widened in disbelief. "What happened to Leo? To the other five?"

"Oh, that, well, all five of them died...Actually, four of them did, poor Georgie was petrified by the Basilisk Demon, which Piper blew up anyway," Phoebe said nonchalantly, as if the death of Whitelighters were a normal, everyday occurrence.

Paige's eyes grew wider, "Five Whitelighters in just five months?!?"

"Yeah," Piper said casually, "The Elders kept on assigning us novice Whitelighters who couldn't keep up. Well, except for Melissa here; she's lasted a week longer than the other five."

Melissa smiled proudly.

Paige turned her head and asked, "I see. What happened to Leo?"

"He's been sent to the Seventh Plane of Existence- the Dimension of the Soul- where his soul is being cleansed of...you know," Melissa answered meekly, referring to the murder of Gideon, the Elder and former Headmaster of the Magic School. "The Council of Elders is still waiting for his soul to be purified and to return to his body."

"Oh," Paige said, her eyes searching around the attic for a chair. She found an overturned antique divan just beside Phoebe and flipped it on its legs She sank heavily on the wobbly chair, letting what she had just heard to sink in. "Five Whitelighters in five months. That is something," she thought uneasily to herself.

Paige looked at Phoebe and then to Piper, her eyes falling on Piper's scar, and she wondered restlessly how her sisters had dealt with demons and warlocks without the Power of Three. Besides the infamous Witch Huntress, Paige was certain that there were still other hordes of upper level demons that had struck the manor and targeted her sisters- to steal their powers and end the Charmed lineage. Paige remembered too clearly that demons that would stop at nothing to kill the Charmed Ones attacked on a daily basis. Oddly enough, her sisters had not called her, not even once. However, she knew from instinct that that didn't mean that her sisters had not been attacked.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked as she saw her youngest sister palely sink down on their grandmother's favorite chair.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She rubbed her forehead and looked questioningly at her two sisters.

Finally, she asked the million-dollar question that had been pounding on her head like a hammer. "I was just wondering, how did you guys manage without the Power of Three?"

"Oh," Phoebe answered as she stepped up to Paige, "Are you talking about the Witch Huntress? Oh, I kicked her scary butt back to the Underworld. Well, of course she kicked our butts first, but I killed myself and possessed her freaky tattooed little body, and showed her who's boss around here! You should've seen her blow up, way freakier than when Piper blows everyday normal demons up." Phoebe gestured her hands and imitated an explosion, "BOOM! Flames and all."

"I see," Paige said, trying to visualize the vanquish of the dread demon. She shook her head out of the visualization and continued, "But that's not what I meant, Phoebe."

"What did you _mean_, Paige?" Piper stepped up and cocked an eyebrow.

"I meant how did you guys get rid of the different upper level demons that have attacked? I'm sure that the Witch Huntress isn't the only upper level demon that had attacked you guys ever since I went to Magic School! How'd you do it without me? Without the Power of Three?"

Phoebe looked uneasily at Piper, uncertain how to answer. "Well, we...uhhh." She stuttered, unsure how Paige would react. She sighed in relief as her elder sister took the initiative and answered Paige's question.

"Potions," Piper replied curtly, as she recalled the countless vanquishing potions that she and Phoebe brewed after Paige had left to teach at the Magic School- there were red potions that erupted in flames upon contact, purple vials that duplicated Piper's exploding power, and small orange bottles that momentarily blinded demons which allowed Piper and Phoebe to escape.

Knowing that she couldn't keep the truth from her youngest sister, Phoebe slowly gave in. "And spells, of course," Phoebe added, the repetitive chants and myriad incantations springing to her mind unexpectedly.

"Wait," Paige said, a puzzled look clouding her brown eyes. "Potions, I can understand; but spells? Are we talking about Power of Three spells here, Phoebe?"

Phoebe's hands began to sweat; she didn't know how to tell Paige how they managed to fight off the weekly demon activity in the Manor without her and the Power of Three. She squinted, trying to come up with the words to slowly tell her what happened. "Ummm...yeah... I mean, we...umm.. we, yeah, we used... P...Power of Three spells, Paige."

Paige's eyes grew wide with bewilderment, "How, Phoebe? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Power of Three spells need," she paused, raising a finger and pointing it at Phoebe, "you," then to Piper, "Piper," and finally to herself, "and me? So how could you cast them without me?"

Phoebe and Piper exchanged a nervous glance, one that Paige quickly recognized.

Though she lacked Phoebe's Empathy, Paige still had her instincts; and these instincts were telling her that Piper and Phoebe were still hiding something from her. "Well?"

"Who's going to tell her, me or you? I'm kinda thinking it would be you, since you're the eldest," Phoebe anxiously whispered to Piper.

"No, you tell her," Piper whispered back, trying to keep a straight face. "You have the Empathy, you can tell how she'll feel when we drop the news on her."

"I know, that's why I don't want to tell her, I can tell that she'll blow up!"

"Spill it, guys!" Paige began to get impatient. "What are you whispering about?"

Piper finally answered, avoiding Paige's eyes. "We...uhhh...We called Grams to help us cast the Power of Three spells."

"GRAMS?"

Melissa jumped in surprise.

"GRAMS???"

Paige's head began to throb and she felt a tinge of anger swell inside her. "Why the hell did you have to call Grams? Why couldn't you have called me instead? Grams is dead, I'm not! So why not call me???" Paige's anger was building. She rubbed her aching head furiously, the veins on her forehead throbbing faster as each minute passed. She could feel her blood boiling and she felt her cheeks fluster with color; her skin was felt and her vision blurred.

Piper stepped forward and reluctantly laid a comforting hand on Paige's shoulder; she felt the heat rising off Paige's body, and wondered whether to keep safe distance or not. She sighed in relief when Paige didn't push her hand away.

"We're sorry, Paige," Piper began, "But, Phoebe and I knew how much you wanted to teach, and...and we didn't want to bother you with...with all the vanquishing and the demons and stuff."

"Yeah," Phoebe chimed in, "We wanted you to concentrate on your teaching, your passion."

"But I'm still a Charmed One! Grams IS NOT!!!" Paige argued.

"Yes, Paige," Phoebe said with a whimper, "But...But she's got decades of Halliwell magic coursing through her.

"Still, I don't see why you couldn't have just called for me..." She paused exasperatedly, hearing a familiar tinkle in the air that only Whitelighters can hear. "Like what Mrs. Winterbourne is doing right now." Paige sighed in frustration and looked at her leather-strapped wristwatch, "Damn, I'm late for the weekly teacher's meeting."

Paige slowly stood up, feeling her blood rushing downwards from head and flowing back to the other parts of her body. She shook her head delicately, feeling slightly dizzy. She leant on to Piper for support, steadying herself as she planted her feet firmly on the creaky attic floor.

She turned to the new Whitelighter and muttered, "Melissa, take good care of my sisters for me, okay?"

Paige then turned to her sisters, looking at them with a fierce determination in her eyes, "This talk is far from over." Paige closed her eyes, hearing her name being called once more by Mrs. Winterbourne, and visualized her room at the Magic School.

Piper and Phoebe watched as their sister disappeared in a show of swirling blue and white orbs.

"Told you she can be scary at times," Phoebe whispered.

Inside an old office in the Magic School, blue and white orbs flashed from nowhere and suddenly materialized and reformed into Paige. Waiting for her whole body to solidify, she rushed to the full-length mirror beside her table, and hurriedly smoothed the wrinkles of her flowing, black robe. Inhaling the coiling vapors emanating from the sandalwood incense burning atop her altar, Paige's nerves calmed down gradually. With one final glance at her mirror, Paige nodded determinedly and reached for the door and went out into the Great Hall, oblivious to the glinting athame raised behind her chair and the pair of eyes staring at her angrily from behind the shadows.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: hey everyone thanks for the wonderful comments! chapter 6 will be up sometime soon :) succubus, i've edited something in chapter 4 to clear things up for you :)_

Paige walked briskly as she neared the Teacher's Conference Room. She checked her watch again, "Shoot, I'm seventeen minutes late." She hastened her pace, and within a couple of minutes, reached her destination.

Standing before the towering wooden doors of the conference room, Paige forced a smile as she pushed the huge door open. She marched in, trying to avoid the eyes that stared at her disapprovingly. "Hey, everyone! Sorry for coming in late! What've I missed?" She asked casually as she strode quickly toward her seat and sank into her chair beside Mrs. Winterbourne.

"A lot," a familiar female voice called out from across the room. "Forgot that there was a meeting, Miss Halliwell?"

Paige looked up and rolled her eyes. She knew to whom the icy voice belonged to all too well- it was the voice of the head of the History of WitchCraft and Wizardry Department, Regina Forlanee.

Regina Forlanee had been a professor in the Magic School for ten years, serving first under Gideon's rule before his unfortunate "resignation." In her mid-thirties, Regina had pale, white skin, red, curly hair, and icy blue eyes that Paige was certain she had seen before, and she had a temper worse than any demon and warlock that Paige had ever encountered. It was rumored that she liked to torture her students with fifty-page long examinations. Even some of the teachers tried to avoid crossing paths with her.

"And I can see why," Paige whispered to herself.

Regina had been harsh and austere on Paige the moment she entered the Magic School as a teacher. Paige hated the fact that Regina didn't recognize her as fellow teacher, but rather, as an "irresponsible child who had no real knowledge of the Craft except for brewing vanquishing potions." She also had often complained to the Council of Teachers that Paige Halliwell was always "too easy on her class and didn't challenge them to their fullest." According to Regina's report about her, Paige's tests were too easy that blindfolded ten-year olds could answer them perfectly. She had also commented on how Paige lacked the proper training and initiative to handle and discipline her class.

"Well, why don't we try switching classes and see if she can handle a class of adolescents and last a whole day without trying to pull all of her hair off!" she had muttered to Mrs. Winterbourne when the older teacher gave her a heads-up about the report that Regina Forlanee had sent to the Council about her.

Inhaling the fragrant scent that was coming off from the frankincense incense that coiled on the center of the table, Paige glanced up past the long, rectangular, rosewood table and looked Regina Forlanee straight in the eye.

"How could I?" Paige said sweetly, "When it's dear old Regina's turn to speak. Oh, please, do carry on!" She blinked innocently and gave the scowling teacher her biggest smile. She waved her hand, "Well?"

Regina Forlanee glared at her, holding Paige's gaze unwaveringly; shooting Paige an icy stare with her cold, blue eyes. Without averting her gaze, she spoke again, her voice echoing through the huge room. "As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted," she squinted angrily, "we need to...."

Paige returned the older teacher's gaze without flinching. She could feel her anger rise to her head, causing her blood to boil again. She resisted the urge to orb the infamous "Witch Bitch" to an angry volcano, and sacrifice her to a malevolent Volcano God.

Paige's gaze began to dwindle as she felt a hand on her shoulders, snapping her back to reality. She hesitantly looked back, slowly taking her gaze off the angry teacher.

Paige was relieved to see the round, pudgy face of Mrs. Wheatcliffe, one of the teachers who taught Astral Projection 101, smiling at her softly. As if sensing her thoughts, the stout teacher whispered, "Don't let her get to you, Paige. Almost all of us here have thought of sending her to another dimension."

Upon hearing this, Paige's mood lightened and chuckled at Mrs. Wheatcliffe's joke. "Why don't you and me drag her off to the Underworld and see if she can boss those demons around?" She snickered softly again.

"Tempting," Mrs. Wheatcliffe snickered along, a huge smile on her face, clearly liking the thought of Regina Forlanee being surrounded by demons.

The two teachers giggled quietly; Paige was thankful that there were teachers like Mrs. Winterbourne and Mrs. Wheatcliffe around. Both of them were the two of the few teachers who had helped Paige get around the school when she first came to teach at the school five months ago. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the raspy voice of the speaker, who was calling out to them from across the room.

"Miss Halliwell!" Regina's steely voice called out angrily, "For the third time, would you care to share to the rest of the room what you and Melanie find so funny?"

Paige's mood darkened again. "I've had it with this bitch," she thought to herself.

"No, what Melanie and I think is between the two of us. Why don't we continue with this conference, Regina?" Paige glared, daring the enraged teacher to fight back.

The two women eyed each other, measuring each other's capabilities, physically and magically. After a tense second, Regina withdrew the fierce look on her face looked back at the board behind her, an eraser erasing the chalk off by itself, as if being used by an invisible hand. Walking toward the board, Regina picked up a chalk and began to scribble on the board, white chunks of the chalk falling down on the floor as she wrote heavily.

Nodding her head in disbelief, Paige sighed, feeling that this won't be the last from the dread Regina "Witch Bitch" Forlanee.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Everyone! here's chapter 6! :) P.S. Succubus, i edited something in Chapter 4 to clarify your question :) hope you guys enjoy this update :)_

"And that concludes this week's teachers' conference," a voice rang out, causing Paige to jump out of her sleep.

"That was one hell of a conference," Paige said as she looked at her wristwatch. _6:49_. "Three hours and a half," she whispered sleepily, "Darn meeting lasted for three hours and a half." Paige tried her best to stifle a yawn and looked around her- her fellow teachers, most of whom were as sleepy as her, were getting up from their seats and was beginning to file out of the conference room, the sound of their shuffling feet causing Paige to fully wake up and sit up straight on her chair. Paige tried her best to remember what had happened in today's meeting, but she came up with a blank- all she could recall was her little argument with Regina and something about increasing the school's library. She couldn't remember when exactly she fell asleep, but she knew she must have had dozed off in the middle of the lengthy conference.

Paige rubbed her eyes and glanced up at the blackboard. She saw the words "**Next Week's Meeting: 3:00 p.m. sharp**" written boldly in red chalk on the board. "Ugh," she groaned exhaustedly, "I absolutely cannot stand another one of these long and boring meetings."

Gathering her folders and teacher's files together, Paige got up and stretched lazily, and began to head for the towering oak doors that lead out into the Great Hall. Clasping her hands on the large brass door-handles, she pulled as hard as she can and walked out into the vast hall, staring down the entire length of the seemingly endless hallway. Paige still marveled at how the hallway seemed to stretch out forever. Starting to walk at the northern end of the hallway, Paige then decided to go to the school's library.

"Might as well write the lesson plan for tomorrow's class," she thought as she began to trace the distance of the Great Hall to the library. Walking down the silent empty hall by herself, Paige hummed gently to break the unsettling silence. Goose bumps erupted on her smooth white skin as she watched dark shadows starting to creep around the walls, slowly covering the entire hall, and smothering the light. Paige nervously checked her wristwatch again. _7:27_. As shadows created dark silhouettes around her, Paige quickened her pace, still not used to the scary darkness that enveloped the enormous school as the sun rolled into sleep and nighttime began to inch into the sky.

Hastening her pace, Paige's footsteps echoed throughout the vast hallway. Clutching her folders tighter against her chest, she walked faster, her footsteps pounding on the ebony black marble floor. As she turned around a corner, Paige suddenly heard another set of heavy footfalls coming in from behind her.

Tok. Tok. Tok.

Wondering whom it could be, Paige convinced herself that it could be a fellow teacher who was on his or her way to the library as well. She straightened her posture and, forcing a smile, turned around to greet whoever it was behind her. What she saw behind her made Paige freeze. Or rather, it was what Paige did not see that made her freeze.

Paige blinked rapidly and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light cast by the newly risen moon on the marble floors of the Great Hall. Standing behind her was- empty space. The Great Hall was still and empty, void of any life forms, save for the cold, dancing shadows that seemed to flee from the radiance cast by the full moon.

Paige squinted hard. Could it be a student playing a prank on her? Paige decided to find

out. "Hello?" She called out, more goose bumps erupted on her skin as her voice echoed down the hollow hallway. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Silence.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed warily again out into the darkness, her shaky voice bouncing off the hollow hallway. Shivering under her black robe, Paige stole one more glance into the darkness and tried to convince herself that it could have been the winds blowing against the walls and the windows. "Yeah, could be the wind," she whispered softly to herself. "You've been watching way too many horror flicks, Paige." she added the joke to herself.

Paige nervously continued her walk down the dimly lit hallway, clutching her files closer to her chest. She began to hum louder, the tune of the Goddess' Hymn playing itself magically into her head, calming her wavering nerves. Paige had gone only a few steps when she heard something that made her heart skip a beat- it was the mysterious noise again.

Tok tok tok.

Paige froze again, her breath caught in her throat. She paused, her heartbeat thundering loudly in her chest, the heavy pounding of her heart ringing in her ears. "Those are definitely footsteps," Paige was fairly certain as the familiar tapping sound of heeled shoes pounding on marble bounced around the empty space of the grand hallway rang in her ears. Without turning around, Paige listened intently, straining her ears to hear where the footsteps were coming from.

Silence again.

The fine hairs on the back of Paige's neck stood up, as a wave of fear soon washed over her. Craning her neck, Paige looked behind her. Still, shadows played around on the floor and on the marble floors. More goose bumps erupted on Paige's pale skin and she broke out into a cold sweat- her hands turned clammy and slippery, sweat beads formed on her forehead.

Remembering her training as a Charmed One, Paige finally confronted her fear and decided to do something about the mysterious footsteps. Squeezing her eyes shut, Paige visualized the way she had walked from the conference room. She waited anxiously as she felt the familiar tingle of her body dissolving into tiny million light particles. Without losing the image of the Great Hall, Paige suddenly re-materialized from where she began- the entrance to the conference room.

Scanning the entire length of the Great Hall before her, Paige searched the hall for the source of the footsteps. Squinting hard against the shimmering light emanating from the moon, Paige tried to focus her eyes on any object that moved, besides the shadows dancing around in the dark.

Paige expected a fellow teacher, maybe Mrs. Winterbourne or Mr. Restmond, to be hiding amongst the shadows, playing a trick on her. Or maybe a student who was gutsy enough to try and pull a prank on her. Slowly walking down the Great Hall, she studied her surroundings, searching for the cause of the heavy footsteps; however, as she searched the vast hall, she sensed no other presence but hers.

Fear soon enveloped her. Firmly holding her folders against her chest, Paige quickened her pace. She broke into a sprint, her own heeled shoes clicking wildly on the marble floors; her own footsteps echoing along with the echoes of the invisible footsteps behind her. Seeking the entrance of the massive library, Paige finally decided to run, the flaps of her black robe flapping as she ran toward the huge swinging doors of her destination.

Tok tok tok.

The footsteps were coming closer and closer, and Paige could feel that they were only inches away from her.

Tok tok tok.

Paige ran as hard as she could, forcing her legs to move faster. She was sweating now, the sweat beads rolling down her face; she can taste the saltiness of her own sweat as droplets fell to her lips. The footsteps were getting louder and louder.

TOK TOK TOK.

Adrenaline rushed through Paige's entire body, propelling her legs forward. Her heart began to hammer inside her chest, and she can feel it beating wildly. The Great Hall fell into a blur as she gained speed, her eyes fixated on the swinging doors of the library only inches ahead of her as she sharply turned into a corner.

TOK TOK TOK.

Paige raced for the library, reaching frantically for the door. She panted, her breath coming in jagged gasps as she ran to her destination.

TOK TOK TOK.

The huge oak doors of the library were only centimeters now. "Oh, Goddess, give me strength, grant your daughter speed," she muttered a prayer under her breath as she neared the entrance of the library. She ran faster, urging her tired legs to move quicker.

"Come on, just a little farther," Paige whispered, stretching her hands out to open the doors of the library. Suddenly, without warning, the doors swung open, and Paige collided head on with the librarian, Ms. Wrinkleberry.

"Ooof," the elderly librarian cried in pain as she fell on her back.

"Ow!" Paige cringed, as she also fell, the folders and sheets of paper clutched in her hand slipping from her grip and flying all over the floor. "Oh!" Paige exclaimed as she saw the elderly woman lying in front of her on the cool marble tile.

Rubbing her head, she got up and gingerly helped Ms. Wrinkleberry to her feet. "I am so sorry, Ms. Wrinkleberry," Paige muttered as she guided the older woman to a chair near the entrance of the library. Checking the older woman for any injuries, Paige sighed in relief as she saw none on Ms. Wrinkleberry.

"Miss Halliwell???" the librarian finally said as Paige helped her to a seat. She stared at her in confusion, not knowing why the younger witch was doing running down the Great Hall. She rubbed her back gently and asked, "I don't understand, what are you doing out here? Were you running?"

"Y...yes," Paige did not realize that she was panting. "I...I'm sorry, Ms. Wrinkleberry. But...but, someone was chasing me...I...I..."

Ms. Wrinkleberry's went wide in alarm, "What?!? Someone was chasing you?" With great difficulty, she got up on her feet, and peeked around the corner where Paige had just come from. Staring out into the moonlit hall, the old librarian watched as the shadows continued to play under the moon's light. Puzzled, she turned to the wheezing Charmed One.

"Miss Halliwell," the confused librarian intoned, her patience barely held in check, "What are you doing? Is this some kind of a joke? You rush to my library, crash into me, and cause me to drop centuries-old tomes, and for WHAT? Shadows dancing around under the moonlight?"

"But...But..." Paige stuttered, unable to explain what had happened, "There really was someone who was..."

"Ah ah ah!" the librarian interrupted, "As you can see for yourself, Miss Halliwell, there is no one chasing you. And how can there be? We are inside the Magic School, one of the safest places there is. I'll have you know that we have more than enough magical charms around the perimeter of the school to keep all demons, even the Source of All Evil, at bay. That is all, Miss Halliwell, I have more work to do." The irritated librarian bent to pick up the books that she dropped to the floor, and with one glance at the stammering Halliwell, disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Paige behind alone standing in the dark.

Shivering in the dimness of the Great Hall, Paige closed her eyes, and visualizing the comforts of her room, disappeared hurriedly in swirling blue and white orbs.

Inside the dark blanket of the shadows, a sharp athame glinted, a silhouette glaring wrathfully at the trail of blue and white orbs left behind by the Charmed One it had been hunting for the last half hour stood defiantly. "Ssooonnn," it hissed ominously.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Succubus, I was happy to edit it for you, you all are special to me J DarkAngel, thanks for the kind words! Roxie Hart, hey ! glad to have you here. Freakinred, Hehe thank you so much, you're making me blush!_

_Here's the next update, guys and gals. I am so so so sorry for the delay. School got in the way, and there was a family problem…I am so sorry… but here's the next chapter for all of you._

Chapter 7

Hours later, a shower of blue and white lights emerged from the marble ceilings and materialized into Paige. She was back in the Great Hall, wearing nothing but a lavender nightgown. Deciding to investigate who was chasing her earlier, Paige decided to probe deeper into the hallway in the dead of the night, clutching a small athame in her left hand. The full moon's light shone brightly down on her through the high windows of the hallway, illuminating her milky white skin. Under the moonlight, Paige looked around her, and cringed- the eyes of the paintings seemed to be following her every move. She took in a breath, goose bumps erupting on her skin as she gingerly took a step forward. She shivered as her bare feet treaded on the cool marble floor, the coolness of the night seeping into her body.

Paige surveyed her surroundings and found everything to be in the same exact place she had seen them when she had been chased earlier- the vases, the paintings, the chairs, everything. Drawing in a sharp breath, Paige calmed her frazzled nerves and convinced herself that there was nothing to be afraid of; the words of Ms. Wrinkleberry echoed in her ears, "_I'll have you know that we have more than enough magical charms around the perimeter of the school to keep all demons, even the Source of All Evil, at bay._"

Nodding in resolution, Paige took a few tentative steps forward. However, she suddenly paused, her body tensing up, her breath caught in her throat, as without warning, heavy, dark clouds washed over the skies and covered the moon, encasing Paige in a blanket of darkness. Even in total darkness, Paige tensed up as she faintly saw flickers of movement in front of her. Reacting on instinct, she clutched the athame above her head, ready to strike, and slowly inched her way forward.

Feeling her way through the darkness, Paige backed up against the wall and slowly paced forward, athame grasped firmly in hand. As she reached her target, she plunged her black-handled athame forward, and yelped in surprise- her blade struck nothing. Paige pulled her athame backward, and swung it forward again- still nothing. Shaking, she stood in silence, waiting for what seemed like hours. Finally, the black clouds that only seconds ago blocked out the moon's light rolled away, revealing the full moon once more.

Paige sighed in relief as the moon's light washed over the dark hallway again, revealing nothing except for the still shadows of the chairs and vases of the Great Hall. Standing in front of her was the empty hallway, still and motionless, save for the shadows that have been cast beneath the moon for hours.

Continuing her exploration of the hallway, a gentle gust of wind slowly brushed against her bare neck, causing her fine hairs to stand on end. Paige whirled around, her body tensed for battle, and probed her surroundings. She stood firmly in silence, trying to listen for stray sounds and movement that might betray an assailant.

As expected, silence enveloped the entire school- the only sounds coming from the howling wind blowing outside and the crying crickets. Sensing nothing dangerous, Paige spun around again and decided to continue her trek down the lengthy hall. However, the moment she turned around, Paige heard a familiar clicking behind her that broke the night's silence.

Tok. Tok. Tok.

Paige's whole body froze. She stayed standing, hiding beneath the shadows, and using them for cover. She gripped the athame tightly, her pulse quickening as the footsteps echoed louder and louder.

Tok. Tok. Tok.

Suddenly, the reverberating footfalls faded away into nothing, as if they disappeared into the winds. An eerie silence fell over Paige like a huge blanket. She stared into the halls, watching as the shadows leapt high into the walls as the moon was hidden yet once more behind heavy, dark clouds, and dropped back down as the moon shone again as the dark clouds rolled away. The shadows seemed to writhe in pain as the moon's luminescence washed over them.

Paige waited for her pulse to slow, and then continued walking. Her delicate nightgown clung to her skin as she broke into a cold sweat. She lightly rubbed her arms, shivering under the moonlight. "Okay, Paige, steady yourself," she whispered to herself coarsely, her throat dry and heavy.

PHLAK! Somewhere behind her, a vase crashed, breaking into tiny million shards of porcelain. Paige's head whipped backward anxiously, searching for the source of the crashing noise. Under the radiance of the moon, she suddenly caught a fleeting glimpse of a billowing cloak draping inches behind her.

"Who?" she thought warily.

As her eyes scanned the area of the hallway behind her, a stray shadow loomed ominously behind her. It was uncharacteristically larger than the others, moving closer and closer to her than any other shadow. Unlike the other shadows that clung to the walls of the hall and remained motionless under the moonlight's watch, this one seemed to make its way nearer to Paige.

Tok. Tok. Tok.

The heavy tapping of heeled shoes once again broke the eerie silence.

With the moonlight shining brightly down on the hallway, Paige could distinctively make out the silhouette of a cloaked figure coming closer.

Tok. Tok. Tok.

Paige remained frozen, paralyzed by her own fears. She looked around, searching frantically for a weapon, when she saw something glint in her left arm. Suddenly, she remembered that she had an athame with her. Gripping her blade tightly, Paige felt more secure. Closing her eyes, Paige tried to pin down the location of her stalker by tuning in to her Whitelighter-sixth sense, a natural instinct that had never failed her before. Instead of "sensing" for a witch in danger, Paige honed in on any one with hostile intentions. Compared to the cool shadows and calm auras of the sleeping students and teachers inside the Magic School, the aura of her stalker burned hot red- its crimson aura scorching the area of the Great Hall behind her.

Without opening her eyes, Paige quickly spun around and hurled her athame. The glinting blade flew at a blinding speed, slicing through the darkness and propelling towards its target. Paige squinted through the darkness and looked on as the blade of her black-handled knife flashed under the moonlight. After a tense second, the athame stopped moving and hung in the air.

"Argh!" a wail of agony shattered the silence of the night.

Paige's heartbeat thundered in her ears as anxiety crept into her. "I hit something," she thought uneasily as she dashed forward to what her athame had struck. Paige ran as fast as she could, her footsteps echoing through the night. She quickly closed the gap between her target and herself. Nearing her target, Paige eyed her surroundings warily.

Expecting to see a cloaked demon or a shape-shifting warlock, Paige braced herself for whatever it was that her athame had hit. However, she reeled in shock when she saw emptiness in front of her. Silence and shadows blanketed Paige as an unexpected wave of fear washed over her.

"What?" was what she could manage before she felt the presence of another being standing behind her. Frozen with fear and panic, Paige could feel slow, warm breathing on her neck. Suddenly, she felt something cool and metallic touch her bare shoulders- shuddering with anxiety; she soon realized that it was her own athame that was sliding down her body. Paige found herself paralyzed by her fear, and her body rejected her instincts to run and flee; even her concentration wavered, and she could not access her gift to orb.

"Witcchhhhh...." the cloaked figure behind her hissed, causing more goose bumps to erupt on Paige's skin. It was a low, hollow whisper, and Paige shivered involuntarily and broke again into a cold sweat, as the coldness of the night seemed to intensify. A stray gust of wind blew in from one end of the hall, and Paige felt the coldness of the wind crawl down her spine through her nightgown.

The cloaked figure behind her traced the outline of her arm with the sharp edge of the athame. "Witch...witch...witch..." it chanted in a low, hollow voice, an empty whisper being blown by the wind.

Paige shut her eyes close. She could hear the thundering beat of her heart; her heart beat beating wildly against her chest.

_One wrong move and I could die. Orb, Paige, orb, _she forced herself nervously.

"Yooouuu sssshhhallll dddiiiieee..." the cloaked figure whispered ominously as it pressed the sharp edge of Paige's athame at her stomach. "Witcchhhh...witchhh... witch..." Its voice seemed to echo hollowly against the cool marble floor, bouncing off the walls and the high windows.

Sweat beads ran down the side of Paige's cheek, as the mysterious figure ran the smooth blade of her athame on her left cheek, the coolness of the metal sending shivers down her spine. Escape was the only thought that clouded her mind, yet the very thought of running seemed impossible, as terror and fear gripped her entire body in an icy grasp, paralyzing her within the cloaked figure's reach.

Then, as if everything went into slow motion, Paige felt the tip of the athame plunge strongly into her stomach, slicing deeply into her flesh.

"Aaaaaaaaaaa," Paige wailed in pain. "aaaahhhh!"

Paige's eyelids fluttered uncontrollably as she winced in pain, her body thrusting upward in pain. Then, without warning, her eyes suddenly snapped open.

Silence.

Crick crick crick. Crickets.

Paige looked around her, her vision dry and blurry; and it took a few moments for vision to adjust to her surroundings. Paige began to realize that she was inside her room, and not in the Great Hall. "It was just a dream...just...a... dream..." she panted wearily. Breathless, she took in huge gasps of air as she tried to look around her and focused- she was in the safety of her room, sweating profusely on her bed. She was lying on sweat-soaked pillows and her raven-black hair clung to her damp pillowcase. She soon became aware that her flimsy nightgown hugged her clammy body tightly. Remembering her dream, Paige's moist hands quickly slid down her stomach and felt around to where the shadow in her dream had stabbed her.

Nothing.

Paige sighed in relief. "It was just a dream," she repeated to herself, "Just a dream." She was shaken up and shivered as she recalled how real the dream felt. Shaking her head, she grabbed her thin blanket and wrapped it around her body as she slowly stood up from her bed. As she began to walk toward her open window, she instantly felt the coolness of the night as a stray gust of wind blew inside uninvited, brushing her cheek lightly.

Panting, she looked up at the bright full moon and gazed at the luminescent orb in the sky. As she stared up at the moon, her breathing gradually returned to normal; staring at the moon always gave Paige a sense of security and tranquility. Minutes passed and remnants of her unsettling dream slowly drifted away into oblivion as Paige continued to stare into the moon, and she soon found herself unconsciously chanting the Wiccan Rede.

"Bide within the Law Ye must,

In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust,

Live you must and Let to Live,

Fairly take and Fairly Give."

Paige continued chanting the Rede until a blanket of calmness and peace washed over her. "Blessed Be," she whispered to the glowing moon and smiled as she finished the entire Wiccan verses. Drinking in the serenity of the night, she closed her eyes as another gust of wind blew from outside; this time, however, she welcomed it merrily. "Just a bad, bad dream," she whispered reassuringly.

Thinking more calmly and clearly now, Paige dismissed the possibility that it was a demon or warlock that had been following her earlier in the Great Hall. She then decided that it was probably one of her rowdy and gutsy students playing a malicious prank on her. "How could it not be?" she mused half-mindedly as words from the Rede still echoed in her mind, "I'm handling pre-adolescent monsters!" She chuckled at her own joke and remembered that it was also a pre-adolescent who had conjured the Headless Horseman a year ago. "I have nothing to worry about," she convinced herself with a nod, "Heck, I vanquish demons from the pits of hell on a daily basis, compared to that, these kids are a piece of cake!"

With that resolution, Paige smiled yet again. She inhaled deeply, thanking the Goddess for clearing her thoughts and restoring her peace of mind. "Yawn," she stretched and exhaled tiredly as the stress of the day crept into her body. The clock on her table read _3:53_. "Might as well go to sleep," she thought.

Before retiring back to bed, Paige looked at the Faery Gardens that was directly below her window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Faeries and Earth Gnomes dancing under the full moon. She looked down disappointedly as she saw nothing but the potted plants and the budding flowers. Yawning once more, Paige bid the moon goodnight and was about to turn around when something shiny below her window caught her eye.

"What?" she cried in terror as she looked down and recognized the glinting object that was shining before her.

Standing in the center of the Faery Gardens was the cloaked figure from her dreams, waving the same athame at her in mockery. The figure looked up and seemed to be staring at Paige through its red cloak, waving the athame at her. Then, in the literal blink of an eye, the cloaked figure was gone; leaving Paige to debate with herself whether the figure really was there or was it merely her imagination playing a sadistic trick on her.

However, one thing was certain, Paige knew that sleep would be elusive.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Succubus, thank you so much for the kind review. you really do inspire me to write more :) here's chapter 8 for you ;)_

Chapter 8

The early morning sun slowly ascended into the sky peeked delicately into Paige's room, sending thin rays of orange-yellow light on her bed and across the floor. The peaceful chirping of the birds filled the air, and the light tingle of bells filled the Faery Gardens below her window. A light breeze blew in, carrying with it the sweet fragrance of early morning dew and newly opened roses.

Paige slowly stirred from her bed as the faint light from the early morning sun stretched forward on her bed, caressing her face with a soft golden hue. She forced her heavy eyelids to open, and she rolled onto her back.

"Ohhh," she moaned, a deep protest echoing from her throat as she slowly extended her right arm forward; she cried out in pain as tiny pinpricks broke out on her arms, tiny needles pricking her blood veins- the painful consequence of sleeping on her arm. She shook her hand vigorously, yelping as the tiny "needles" pricked her, as she tried to force the blood to flow back normally to her entire arm. Her head throbbed with pain, and Paige gingerly massaged it with her left hand. Turning her head, she glanced at her heart-shaped clock. _6:12_.

Her eyelids drooped wearily and she groaned. She had gotten barely 3 hours of sleep and her entire body felt like lead. Paige had not been able to rest peacefully; shadows played around her the entire night, and dreams of cloaked demons wielding sharp athames permeated her sleep every time she closed her eyes.

"Ahhhh," Forcing her body to sit up, Paige flung her hands upward and stretched lazily. "Got to get ready for the day," she whispered tiredly, the thought of having to face a class of noisy pre-adolescent tricksters weighing her down more. She yawned as she dragged her heavy body up and headed towards the small altar by her dresser.

Rubbing her eyes to clear the rest of her sleepiness away, Paige began to prepare for her daily morning Wiccan ritual. She arranged two pillar candles- one silver on the right, one gold on the left- in the center of the white altar cloth, and then proceeded to gather the rest of the materials for her ritual. From the drawer beneath the small, antique altar, Paige produced a soft, white feather, which she positioned meticulously on the eastern portion of the altar; a red votive candle, which she placed on the southern portion of the altar; a smooth auger shell which she situated at the western portion of the altar; and finally, a round polished stone with a painted pentagram in the center on the northern portion of the altar.

Yawning once more, Paige searched around for her lighter. She looked for her white lighter, her eyes darting all over the altar table. Finally, she found it hidden inside the small cauldron that Paige used to brew her Sleeping Potions in. "Ah, there you are," she said to herself, as she took the small lighter. Clearing the rest of her sleepiness away, Paige closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She breathed in, her stomach gently inflating as the cool morning air entered her nose, and then deflating as she released her breath. Feeling more refreshed and more awake, Paige then proceeded to light the two candles- lighting the silver candle first, and then the gold. She lit the red votive candle as well. She tucked the small lighter back into the small cauldron and then sat, in lotus-position, in front of the altar. She began to chant in a sing-song voice as she swept her hands in a circular motion around her altar,

"Ancient Ones of the Earth so deep,

Mistress of Moon and Master of Sun,

I shield you in my Wiccan way,

In this circle round,

Asking you to guide my space,

And let your magic forces down."

Her voice rose and fell in a rhythmic hum as she continued to chant the magic incantation, feeling the Earth's golden energies flowing through her legs, then up to her arms, then finally to her head. Strength and a renewed sense of peace filled her body, and, as her voice rose to its pinnacle, she stopped chanting. Her eyes fluttered open as she felt her prayer take effect, a blanket of tranquility and power wrapping around her.

"Blessed Be," she finally whispered as she pushed herself up on her feet, "The spell has been cast." She looked at the two altar candles, and with a smile, pinched them to put the fire out. She pinched the small wick of the votive candle as well. She stretched once more, sensing the new strength inside her.

Thanking the Deities one last time, she then turned her back and glanced at her clock. _7:58._ "Only an hour to get ready," she thought as she walked over to her closet and pulled a black robe from her cabinet. Whistling an old Gaelic song, she stepped inside the bathroom and took a warm shower, the worries of the previous day dissolving down the drain.

Paige walked to class, feeling refreshed and renewed. However, as she turned around a corner and strode into the Great Hall, something made her heart freeze. In the center of the Great Hall lay tiny broken shards of porcelain, remnants of an ancient Egyptian urn.

"It couldn't be," Paige muttered, the images from her nightmare coming back to her. She vaguely recalled hearing something break from behind her in her dream. Paige was not certain if it were a vase, but she had a sinking feeling that the vase that lay shattered in front of her was the one that she heard shattering from her dream. "Could it?" An icy cold fear gripped her heart.

Suddenly, Paige turned in surprise as a slouching old man that she assumed to be a janitor, came from the custodial room, brandishing a broomstick in his left hand, cussing beneath his breath. "Reckless young'uns, running around, breaking priceless antiques," he grumbled audibly. "Oh, good morning, miss," he smiled, revealing teeth severely yellowed with age, as he turned his head and looked at Paige. He curtly nodded and proceeded on to sweep the shards of porcelain.

Paige sighed in relief. "Get a hold of yourself, Paige," she scolded herself as she grinned at the old custodian and walked on to her class. However, as Paige strode to her designated classroom, she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched; the fine tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end, and she felt eyes boring at the back of her head. Refusing to give in to her rising fears, Paige determinedly looked back. A chill suddenly ran down her spine; as soon as she turned her head, her eyes fell on the old custodian, and realized that he was smiling eerily at her, staring at her with a mouthful of decaying teeth. His heavy-browed eyes followed her every move unwaveringly, his eyes penetrating hers. Shivering, Paige spun her head back and hurriedly turned into another corner, avoiding the creepy old man's strange smile, and finally ducked into her classroom.

Paige sighed, as she finally pressed the door shut behind her.

All chatter and noise soon stopped as she entered the room. A handful of students hurriedly grabbed their books and feigned reading. A few rushed to their seats. And as usual, Clyde was back on his seat, mending another damaged book, clearly a victim of one of his classmates' childish pranks.

She walked to her desk and haphazardly threw her folder on top. Catching her breath, she clutched her chest with one hand, and pulled her chair backwards with the other. She sank to her chair as her breathing slowed, and looked at her class crossly, stress and weariness making her more short-tempered than usual. "What's happening here?" She paused and looked at the sobbing student, "Clyde?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Paige saw a female student, Ashley fidget slightly and sink lower in her seat.

Without answering, Clyde slowly raised his book, which had a scorch mark in the center. He sniffed, and lowered the book down.

Recognizing immediately where the scorch mark came from, Paige quickly turned to the female student who was twitching irregularly on the edge of her seat. "Ashley!"

The student named Ashley turned pale and sank deeper into her seat. She began to sweat and hand turned clammy. She began to stammer in protest, but before any words could escape her, her body turned into blue and white orbs, as Paige sent her to detention with her orbing powers.

She then turned to the rest of the class, all the students shooting her scared looks, and shouted, "Everyone, send in your reports. NOW!"

The sound of shuffling papers filled the room as students hurriedly scrambled to get their reports ready. Lack of sleep and stress taking their toll on her system, Paige dropped to her chair, and massaged her throbbing temples. Feeling too drained to teach, Paige instructed the class to answer their Spell-casting manuals.

"Clyde?" She weakly called out, "Can you please collect the reports and bring them here please?"

Clyde silently wiped his nose and the sleeve of his robe and nodded. He slowly stood up from his desk and began collecting his classmates' reports. He was faced with angry stares and scorn for indirectly ratting Ashley out. He meekly lowered his head to avoid the eyes of his classmates. After gathering the reports, he marched directly to Paige's desk. He gently placed the stack of reports at the center beside her folders, and smiled shyly.

"Thank you, Clyde," Paige smiled back.

Nodding his head silently, Clyde waved his hand over Paige's desk. An apple magically appeared once more, and he flashed a quick smile at Paige, his blue eyes twinkling brightly. He turned around, and walked quietly back to his desk.

Paige smiled, fragments of her stress melting away as she bit into the juicy red apple. All the stress, fear, and apprehensions from her nightmare and her brief encounter with the disturbing custodian slipped away into oblivion. Her mood gradually lightened as the sweet taste of the apple tickled her taste buds, filling her with a heavy feeling of drowsy tranquility, as if she were floating in space.

For a brief moment, Paige closed her eyes peacefully.

Soon, Paige's eyelids fluttered heavily as a sharp ringing echoed and cut through the calm silence that filled her mind. She opened her eyes and looked at her watch. _3:00_. She woke with a start, her head jerking awake, realizing that the sharp ringing was coming from the class bell and that she was still inside the classroom. Before she could say or do anything, the rushed sound of scuffling feet filled the class, competing with the sound of the end-of-the-class bell.

"Class dismissed," she murmured drowsily, her voice drowned by the incessant ringing of the hallway bell and the cheerful cries of her students.

She gingerly rubbed her sleepy eyes and tried to remember what had happened. Everything from the past few minutes went by in a blur. "What happened?" she thought. Closing her eyes, Paige recalled instructing the class to submit their reports, and asking Clyde to bring them to her. She also recalled the sweet, red apple that Clyde gave her. Yet, everything after that had become hazy, jagged memories that made her head ache as she tried to remember them.

Straining to jog her memory, Paige was finally able to retrieve some of her memories through the haze in her mind.

Squinting, Paige remembered that she checked her watch fifteen minutes before the lunch bell. Her eyelids then felt heavy, and it became difficult for her to keep them open. She recalled a heavy feeling was weighing her down, and Paige tried to fight it. Yet, it finally conquered her, and she finally gave in. Her eyelids dropped and Paige drifted off to sleep.

She tried to recall more when a little voice called out to her.

"Miss Halliwell?" a tiny voice squeaked, causing Paige to return to reality. "Miss Halliwell?"

"Hm?" Paige's eyes slowly opened and she waited for them to focus. She soon found herself staring into the deep blue eyes of her favorite student. "Clyde?" Paige noticed that every student had already left the class, and only the two of them remained inside. She looked back at her student and was drawn by his blue eyes.

Paige saw a worried look cross the student's face. He asked in a timid voice, "You...you look pale and tired, and I was wondering- are...are you okay? Do you feel sick?"

Paige smiled at her student, despite of her fatigue. With a shaky voice, she replied, "It's sweet of you to ask. But, I'm fine, Clyde, thanks." However, as she pushed her chair back and tried to stand, Paige felt her knees turn into rubber, buckling under weight; she sank back into her chair, a wave of nausea hitting her. "Or not," she gasped under her breath as she slumped weakly into her chair.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: DarkAngel and Succubus, thank you so much for the support and the encouragement. i am so sorry that it took me this long to update. the exams week came up and the computer went wonky on me. i wasnt able to use the computer for one whole month! :(_

_Again, i would like to thank you for the wonderful reviews! they really inspire me and make my day! :)_

**Chapter 9**

"Miss Halliwell!" Clyde cried out in surprise as Paige dropped back into her chair. "Miss Paige!"

"Uh," Paige grimaced as everything in front of her blurred into a pallet of indistinguishable colors. She felt lightheaded, and struggled to catch her breath. "Uh, Clyde?" Paige closed her eyes tightly, resisting the urge to throw up, "Tell me, is the world still spinning?"

Disoriented, Paige tried to stand, but as soon as she pushed herself upward, she staggered, falling weakly back into her chair. She closed her eyes again, her head drooping to one side.

"No, don't stand up," Clyde hurriedly rushed to Paige's side and helped her sit back down; he propped her head properly on the chair, tilting her head backward. Waving his hand over the table, a small basin of cold water and a bottle of smelling salts appeared. He reached into his robes and pulled a light blue handkerchief, and immersed it into the small basin. He placed the soaked handkerchief on Paige's forehead, then proceeded to open the small vial of smelling salts. Gingerly, he waved the small vial under Paige's nose.

As the fumes of the salts coiled into Paige's nose, her head snapped forward. The damp cloth slid down her cheek and she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision steadied dimly, and her eyes focused slightly. Coughing, she asked, "Ugh, what was that?"

Relieved that Paige was coming to, Clyde sighed in relief and replied sheepishly, "Magic Wake-me-up."

"Oh," Paige muttered as her vision became more stable. She remained silent for a few moments, waiting for her perception to return to normal. The colors that were swimming before her eyes minutes ago were gradually starting to sharpen, changing back to the familiar desks and lecture posters. She closed her eyes, and opened them once more. Her vision had completely returned to normal, and she felt better- all traces of nausea were slowly dissipating from her body. "That was some strong stuff you got there, Clyde," Paige smiled faintly at her student.

Clyde returned her smile. He glanced down and read the label, "Extra-strength." He looked up again and grinned sheepishly at his teacher.

Paige reached out from across her table and touched Clyde's hands, "Oh. Thank you very much, Clyde."

Clyde blushed, his face turning red, "It was nothing, Miss Halliwell. I was worried." His tone became serious, and it was soon laden with worry and concern. "I hope you don't mind me asking, ma'am, but what happened? Is everything alright?"

Paige hesitated. She herself was unsure and was mystified of what caused her episode. Dismissing it, Paige surmised that it was probably her lack of sleep and her brief encounters with her subconscious that were causing her sudden dizziness and lack of strength.

Paige exhaled and answered, "I…I'm fine, Clyde, thank you. I…It's just that I haven't got much sleep these past few days. That's all." She gave him a reassuring smile and, feeling her strength slowly returning to her body, pushed herself up to her feet.

Seeing this, Clyde rushed to her side and supported her up. "Miss Halliwell, are you sure that you can stand? Are you okay? I…I…"

Grasping the edge of the desk for support, Paige slowly raised her left hand. "I'm fine, Clyde. Really. Thanks to you. I just need to get a little rest." She teetered slightly as she struggled to gain balance. Regaining her stability, Paige gave a faint smile to her student and proceeded to gather the stacks of paper and her folders. Lifting them up, she saw Clyde inch forward and reach out with his hands, motioning to carry the load for her.

"Here, let me," the lanky student offered. He reached over and attempted to carry the stack of papers, but he was too thin to lift them up. "Ooof," he muttered as the weight of the papers proved to be too much for him.

"Are you sure that you can carry those?" Paige asked, this time, it was her turn to be concerned. She watched on as her student struggled to clasp the papers within his grip. Paige looked on as the frustrated conjurer tried with a great effort to contain the load.

"No, actually, they're a bit too heavy for me," the skinny teenager admitted embarrassedly, "but, I have a better idea." Sighing in defeat, Clyde waved his hands, and a small wooden wagon with a black handle and four rusty wheels appeared. "There we go!" Clyde announced, clearly pleased with his conjured wagon.

"Gee, how innovative," Paige kidded. "Come on, I'll lead the way to my office." Upon seeing the concerned look on Clyde's face, she quickly added, "I'm fine. Really." Gathering her folders, Paige walked toward the door.

Clyde trailed behind, pulling the wagon close behind him, the rusty wheels squeaking as he pulled. He meekly followed in silence, walking beside his teacher along the Great Hall. However, after a few minutes of wordless quietness, Clyde finally mustered up the courage and tried to start a conversation up. He found his voice and squeakily began, "Uhmm…Miss Halliwell? I wanna ummm…, I wanna thank you…for…um, for helping me out earlier…"

Paige looked at her student and nodded. "Don't mention it, Clyde. Just don't let them bully you again the next time around." Paige recalled the innumerous times that she had seen and heard about how other students always made fun of Clyde and she felt a twinge of anger. "I'm not saying that you should fight back, Clyde, but don't let them just boss you around. Stand up to them." Paige recounted how she herself had once been the target of bullies, and wistfully narrated how she had gathered her wits about and stood up to her antagonists. "A few wads of super glue applied to their seats in Miss Carrie's class showed them that it's not nice messing up with Paige Matt…er…Halliwell!"

The two broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Now, I'm not suggesting that you do the same thing," Paige hastily added, "All I'm saying is that, don't give them the satisfaction of bossing you around."

"I…Thanks, Miss Halliwell," Clyde whispered.

Paige nodded. She felt a rising feeling of satisfaction welling inside her; she was finally doing what she had been longing for- to teach and reach out. She felt happier and lighter, her tiredness soon slipping away. "And thank you for helping me find my path again," Paige thought to herself, mentally addressing the young Conjurer.

Turning into another corner, Paige was about to open her mouth to speak, when she saw something that made her stop. Standing in the middle of the hallway, sweeping the floor, was the same old custodian that Paige had run into earlier. As the teacher and student walked nearer the old custodian, he stopped what he was doing and looked up. He stared at them, flashing a toothless grin at Paige yet again.

"Good afternoon, miss," he greeted, the corners of his eyes creasing into wrinkles as he smiled.

Paige reluctantly smiled back. "Good afternoon," she muttered nervously. Without a moment's hesitation, she hastened her pace. "Let's go, Clyde, I still have to record those reports."

Clyde did as he was told and pulled the little wagon faster. Its rusty wheels scraped against the cool marble floor, a squeaking sound signaling the wheels' protest.

As they strode along the Great Hall, Paige walked closer to her student, her voice dropped to a mere whisper. "Clyde, do you know who that old man is?"

Clyde looked up at looked into the questioning eyes of Paige. "Oh yes, umm… that's old Mister Finchem, the new Groundskeeper. Creepy, huh," Clyde replied and watched as his teacher nodded her head in agreement.

"New Groundskeeper? What happened to Mister Patterson?" Paige inquired, a look of confusion crossing her face.

Clyde was silent for a few moments, and Paige noticed her student fidgeting around with the handle of his wagon.

"Clyde?" she asked, "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Um," Clyde began, "Er…Well, Mister Johnson told us yesterday that Mister Patterson disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Paige cut in, troubled, "What do you mean disappeared?"

"Well, according to Mister Johnson, he simply vanished into thin air," Clyde said in a disbelieving tone. "The school was searched when his daughter, Marissa, complained that he hasn't returned to their hut all day yesterday since he reported for work. The entire school was investigated by a small group of student Trackers, but there was no sign of him anywhere."

Paige was troubled at this piece of news. _Yesterday_, she thought, bothered. _Yesterday…that was also the same day I heard those mysterious footsteps following me! Could Mister Patterson's disappearance have anything to do with those footsteps?_

"Miss Halliwell?" Clyde looked at his teacher questioningly, "Miss? Did I say something?"

Paige snapped out of her thoughts, "Oh, uh, no, no, I…I'm fine…" Shaking her head, she looked weakly at her student, "I must still be tired…" Walking into another corner, Paige pointed to a mahogany-colored door with a gold-plated sign where the words _Paige Halliwell _was engraved in elaborate calligraphy. "Here we are," she whispered as she turned the doorknob wearily, a tinge of doubt and hesitance clouding her mind as she pushed the door open.

"Wow, so this is where your office is…" Paige heard Clyde mutter in awe.

However, as she held the door open, gesturing for her student to enter, a slight movement caught her eye.

"What?" She gasped in shock as her eyes fell on her Wiccan altar. A sole black candle was burning excitedly on top of her altar, its orange flame dancing back and forth; the gold and silver pillar candles were nowhere to be seen on the altar. Paige stood unmoving by the open doorway; her eyes remained transfixed on the black candle and her mouth gaped open, a familiar fear crawling up her spine. Suddenly, without warning, an uninvited breeze blew in, causing the fine hairs on her body to stand on end.

"Miss?" Once more, Clyde's voice broke through the silence and brought Paige out of her thoughts.

Snapping out of her trance, she remembered that she was not alone. Head spinning, Paige looked back at her student, and hurriedly decided to send him to the safety of his room.

"Uh...Clyde, thanks for the help."Paige began,"You've been wonderful, but…erm… I really have to check these papers right away." She ushered Clyde out of her office gently, "Thanks again for the help!"

"Uh, it's my pleasure, Miss," Clyde said as Paige continued to guide him out the door. He took one last peek at the office and left the rusty wagon full of papers and reports, before he turned around to return to the Great Hall, scratching his head in confusion as he walked.

Paige closed the door as soon as Clyde left and turned to her altar, her heart beating mercilessly in her chest. She gingerly walked to her altar, eyeing the black candle carefully. "Where did this candle come from?" she thought aloud as she reached the wooden table. As if to answer her question, a small folded piece of paper materialized two inches away from the mysterious candle.

Paige's heart now pounded on her chest, and she could hear each single heartbeat thunder in her ears. With sweaty palms, she reached forward and picked the paper. She opened it and stood in shock as she read what was written. There, in the center of the paper, was a single word, written in blood, which sent jolts of fear through Paige's body- SURPRISE.

Without warning, the mysterious piece of paper suddenly erupted in flames and was instantly turned to ashes. Paige shivered as she stared at the small pile of ashes in her hand. Then, she looked at the burning black candle atop her altar, and was now shaking with fear.


	10. Chapter 10

_Finally, I've been able to write again and update my fic. To everyone, I am so sorry for the delay… it's just that school work and personal problems have both been weighing me down these past few days… again, I am so sorry…_

_I hope you'll enjoy this latest installment… _

**Chapter 10 **

Dark clouds rolled heavily outside the school, covering the entire Great Hall in a murky haze. A blanket of shadows played ominously along the walls of the hallway, taunting Paige with their dark forms as she trudged heavily along the marble floor of the Great Hall toward her class. In the distance, she heard thunder rumbling.

Paige inhaled deeply. Her whole body was sluggish, her feet were like jelly, and she felt that they were going to give way any minute. Sighing, Paige felt another yawn coming, and she tried her best to stifle it, to push it back; however, it still came out, like the other hundred yawns that she had unsuccessfully pushed away. She was too exhausted, and it took everything that she had left to keep them open.

She closed her eyes for a second.

Sleep had been elusive for Paige. Everything that had happened- the mysterious footsteps, the unexplainable dreams, the cloaked figure, the black candle, and the note- had entered her mind uninvited every time she had tried to close her eyes. Paranoia had sunken into Paige's mind, and she had twitched at every sudden movement and noise around her.

Relying on her magic, Paige had spent her entire time the previous day expending her magical energies casting protection spells around her office and herself. Images of the cloaked figure from her dreams and the mysterious black candle had permeated her thoughts and had flooded her with an inexplicable fear. She had been terrified to close her eyes- the fear of an unknown assailant striking her if she allowed herself to let her guard down had paralyzed her. Deciding to use her magic, she had cast spell after spell, using a variety of protection incantations and rituals- Latin, Chinese, Greek- she had learnt from the different spell books in the school.

However, in spite of all the protection that she had cloaked herself in, she had still felt trapped by an evil that she could not see, yet one that she could distinctly feel. It had been like a whisper that taunted her from deep within the shadows, a cloud of doom that loomed above her from beyond the darkness.

Paige opened her eyes and cringed- the memory of the mysterious figure still clung at her mind, and sent chills crawling up her spine. With clammy hands, she rubbed her goose-bump-ridden shoulders and shuddered. A new wave of fear washed over her, and she felt vulnerable and alone. A sickening combination of paranoia and fear frazzled her nerves, making her senses stand on end.

Instinctively, Paige raised her guard up. She stood in full alert now; her sleepiness slowly drifted away and was suddenly replaced by a cumbersome prickling feeling on her neck- it was as if someone, or something, was watching her.

Paige brushed off her exhaustion and sleepiness, determined not to let her mysterious foe catch her off-guard and vulnerable. She turned her head and looked at the Great Hall. _Weird_, she thought as she surveyed the hallway before her and realized that it was surprisingly very empty. With an effort, she raised her left hand and checked her wristwatch. _8:46_. _Very, very weird_. It was usually around this time that students rushed to their classes to make it through to the first bell, yet the entire Great Hall was deserted, void of any movement. Paige suddenly grew very aware of the deafening silence that enveloped the hallway. The blanket of silence was so overwhelming that Paige could hear a pin drop, literally.

On instinct, Paige's body stirred. She noticed that the only sound that she could hear was her own jagged breathing. Everything was still- the birds outside did not chirp, the winds refused to blow. Eerie silence. Rubbing her arms, Paige decided to investigate and was about to take a step forward, when a swift movement along the wall caused her to stop.

_What? _Paige caught a glimpse of a lone stray movement along the walls beside her in her peripheral view. A dark form glided quickly behind her; it was almost imperceptible- it was gone as quickly as it came. Senses on full alert, Paige slowly turned around and followed the fleeting black form.

Nothing.

Paige froze. _Was it just a trick of the light?_ she thought. _Maybe I'm just seeing things. _However, as she scanned the hallway, Paige caught another fleeting glimpse of movement along the wall beside her. Bright colors assaulted Paige as she swiftly spun around; a head rush attacking her weak body. Steeling herself, Paige waited for the colors to clear.

Empty space. Nothing.

Paige's pulse quickened and her heart raced. She could feel her heartbeat pounding heavily inside her chest, the rhythm almost deafening. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead and her arms. She closed her eyes and tried to orb out, but nothing happened; she could not feel the magic coursing through her body.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump Ba-dump.

Her heart pound on her chest faster and faster and she feared that it would burst out of her chest.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

She felt her chest about to explode.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Out of the shadows, an icy hand reached out and grabbed Paige.

Paige's scream filled the Great Hall.


	11. Chapter 11

**_A/N: Everyone, here is a short update. i hope you'll like it, sorry for the delay again. _**

**Chapter 11**

Paige hurriedly turned around and covered her mouth with trembling hands.

"Clyde!" Paige exhaled in relief.

She was about to step closer when she saw something that made her freeze in her tracks. Standing in front of her was Clyde, wrapped in a black hooded robe, an eerie smile plastered on his small face.

"Uh, C…Clyde?" Paige asked, her voice wavering with anxiety. "What…what are you…"

Before Paige could finish her sentence, Clyde put his hand up to silence her. "Surprise," he sneered. Before Paige could react, Clyde shimmered out, his grin widening as he vanished.

_What?_ Paige looked around, an overwhelming sense of dread flooding her thoughts, impairing her concentration. She was about to make a step forward, when she heard Clyde calling out to her again.

"Miss Hal-li-well," he called out in a shrill singsong voice, taunting her. "Miss Hal-li-well. Miss Hal-li-well." His voice floated in mid-air, bouncing throughout the entire hallway. "Miss Hal-li-well."

Paige tried to follow the voice, her head whipping around in frenzy; she looked behind her, then up, down, up, then back again. _Where are you? _she wondered madly, trying to determine where Clyde was hiding.

Suddenly, Clyde appeared, materializing in front of her with a pleased look in his small face. He stared at a bewildered Paige, and as their eyes met, his eyes blue eyes glimmered icily at his teacher, reflecting an innate sadistic pleasure that Paige could clearly discern as pure evil and unmistakably demonic. With one gesture, he lifted his hands and a jeweled double-edged dagger appeared in his hand. His grin widened as he shimmered out once more.

"Catch me if you can!" Clyde's cold voice floated around Paige.

Before Paige could react, Clyde shimmered back, appearing behind her, athame in hand. In one swift movement, he thrust the athame into the base of the confused Charmed One's back.

"Ah!" Paige screamed out.

Then, everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Everyone, I am so sorry that it took me months to update again.. but I do hope you like this next installment. I am so sorry. Please review? Thank you..**_

"Ugh…What? Where am I?" Paige groggily opened her eyes, pain shooting through her head like lightning. Her vision was blurred, and she saw nothing but darkness. "Hello?" she called out to nothingness, her voice trembling as fear crept into her.

_Where am I?_ she thought. She was about to reach forward and massage her throbbing head when she realized, with dread, that her hands were tied behind her; she was trapped. _No!_

Sluggishly, Paige tried to pull at the ropes, yanking at them and hoping that it would somehow loosen. _Come on, come on,_ she coaxed the rope that bound her hands. But all her efforts were in vain as her weakened strength could not free her. Finally, Paige decided to use her magic.

"Rope," she called out, visualizing the rope and calling her powers to make it dissolve into tiny orb particles. "Rope!" Again, her efforts were all in vain. The rope remained untouched. Frustration mounted her, as her power couldn't free her. Closing her eyes once more, Paige tried to orb away, calling on her Whitelighter half.

Nothing. Not as much as single cell in her body turned into a blue-white spark.

"What?" Paige was panicking now- she was gravely weakened and her powers did not work. Pain shot through her again, and she winced in agony.

_I'm too weak to use my powers,_ Paige thought uneasily. _Maybe a subtler trick would work_. Paige closed her eyes and muttered a simple incantation.

"Rope loosen,

Path open!"

Nothing.

Suddenly, "Paige?" a voice called out to her weakly. "Paige.. Is that you?"

Paige could barely hear the voice; it came to her faintly, like a whisper. "Who's there?" She tried to look around, searching for the voice, but her eyesight could not permeate through the darkness that enveloped her. "Hello," she called out in despair, "Is anyone here? Help me!"

"It's me," the voice called back in another faint whisper, "Leo."

"Leo?" Paige strained to listen and checked if what she heard was right. "Leo? Is that really you?" Paige was shocked. Her brother-in-law-slash-Whitelighter was supposed to be in another dimension. "But...But I thought that your soul was being cleansed? What are you doing here? Who brought you here?" Paige's mind buzzed with questions, and her head ached once more.

"I...I.." Leo began, but before he could continue, a stray gust of wind blew in unexpectedly from within the darkness.

And then silence. The wind abruptly withdrew, disappearing as if it had never really existed.

"My, my, my" another voice boomed out from the shadows, metallic, cold, and ruthless. "What a touching scene. The young witch and her Whitelighter. Reunited at last! If I had a heart, I'd cry." The voice cackled out and the laughter echoed maniacally inside the dark room.

The sound was like fingernails scratching and clawing through a blackboard, and it made Paige's skin crawl. She tried to block out the voice, but she couldn't- it entered her body and filled her with dread. She steeled herself, and finally, mustering enough courage, she screamed, breaking the treacherous laughter, "Who are you? What do you want from me? From us?"

Gathering her strength, Paige tried to turn her head, searching through the haze and ignoring the blinding pain shooting from her head.

Paige called out to the darkness and summoned the voice from the shadows. Her voice quivered, yet she forced herself to be steady. _I'm a Charmed One_, she told herself. "Show yourself!"

The laughter stopped, and suddenly, a torch erupted from somewhere in the center of the shadows. Then another torch erupted, and another, and another, until there were five lit torches formed in a pentagram. Orange flames leapt into the air, licking at the ceilings and lighting the entire room. Its bright luminosity momentarily surprised Paige, and she had to squint through the light, waiting for her eyes to adapt to the brightness.

When her eyes had adapted, Paige cried in horror as she saw Leo, lying almost lifelessly to her left. He was tied to a post, naked, his skin wet and shiny through the glow of the torches. He was covered in dirt and was nearly unconscious- his eyes were diluted and his body slumped motionless, his head dangling sluggishly. "LEO! LEO!"

"I'm afraid your Whitelighter can hear you no longer, child. There is not much life in him anymore," the voice called out. Paige turned and followed the voice, and saw that there was a figure standing inside the pentagram- the cloaked figure. "So much life in him, so much vigor. Delicious." The cloaked figure laughed once more.

_How dare you? How dare you hurt and desecrate Leo this way?_ Paige could feel anger and frustration bubbling inside her. "YOU!" She directed the cloaked figure that had been hunting her for days, "What did you do to him?"

"Do not worry, child," the figure said in a slow tone, "you and him share the same fate. Soon, you shall receive your punishment. But first, introductions must be made." The cloaked figure snapped its fingers, and suddenly, the torches parted, creating a pathway for it to walk through. "I am certain that you are wondering who I am, witch. All those nights, I have hunted you. You have been a most playful prey. You've been very, very elusive. I expected nothing less from a Charmed One."

The figure took deliberate steps towards Paige, its heels trudging through the wooden floor heavily. "Did you enjoy the chase? Did you find thrill in running around in mazes, blinded and unsure? Did you enjoy the trail I blazed, Charmed One?"

The figure neared and stopped inches in front of Paige, whose gaze never left the cloaked figure. "I know I did. I have tasted your fear, reveled in it, fed upon it. It was… enticing, seductive." The figure finally stooped down and knelt before her. Paige was staring into the dark shadows of the cloak, searching for the face beneath it. "And now, the chase has ended and the hunter has captured the prey." The figure's voice fell into a whisper, "Are you ready to face your new master, witch? Are you ready to bow down to your mistress? You should."

Paige felt the breath of the figure- it was cold. Mist blew from within the cloak, which made Paige shiver. Yet, her gaze never wavered, as if daring the cloaked figure to reveal what lies beneath.

A hand thrust forward from within the cloak, rising steadily. And as if time had slipped into slow motion, the hood of the cloak slowly pulled back, revealing a face that made Paige's heart skip a beat.

"YOU!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 

Paige was struck by panic, shock, anger, and anxiety all at once, and her face contorted into a grimace. She was frozen, as if affected by Piper's freezing power. "H…How? Why?"

The face in front of her leered, its icy blue eyes glinting in the room. "Surprised to see me, Miss Halliwell?" The voice wafted through the room lazily, clearly amused at the bewilderment of the Charmed One. "Surprised to see old Regina ?"

"B…But why?" Paige stammered, shocked at the betrayal of her fellow teacher, "Why?"

Regina's eyes grew and her blue eyes suddenly turned into crimson red, staring at Paige with anger and hatred. "Why?" Regina repeated, rage creeping into her voice. "Why? Because you stole my job from me, witch! You-stole-my-job-from-me!"

Paige stared at the enraged witch in front of her, confusion in her eyes. "I…I… what?"

Regina slowly stood up and turned her back from Paige, pacing toward the pentagram of flames. "Don't play coy with me, you opportunistic little witch," her voice boomed inside the room, dripping with detest and malice. "Don't pretend you don't know." As she spoke, the flames from the torches grew larger, reaching toward the ceiling. "Ever since that old Gideon 'resigned', I knew that I was going to be the new Headmistress of this school- the new leader of the next generation of Magic. Imagine, hundreds of magical children under my rule, under my control."

Regina stopped, and turned sharply to face Paige, her finger extended, pointing angrily at Paige. Her eyes glared, burning with hatred and rage. "But you," her finger shaking, "had to come along and ruin everything- ruin everything I've waited so long to attain." Her fingers sprang from her hand, and she slapped Paige with the force of a brick wall.

"Ah," Paige recoiled as Regina's hand connected with her face.

"All those months of being under the wing of that imbecile, Gideon," she muttered disgustedly. "'_Regina, do this. Regina, do that_.'," she said. "I've been the perfect little assistant, doing everything that Gideon ordered. I was a servant, more than anything else; a puppet being twirled around by the biggest idiot the magical world has ever known. But guess what? Regina grew tired. I knew that I had to take things into my own hands. I knew that Gideon's golden rule should be replaced. And who better to replace that imbecile, than me- Regina Forlanee."

"I did a good job with it, too. No one suspected a thing. No one knew that I was the reason behind everything, I was the reason for the downfall of the mighty Gideon," she whispered, her eyes staring back into the past and into what had happened. She stood up and walked back into the center of the pentagram, and sat inside it. Her entire body was bathed in an orange glow, shadows playing around her.

Paige looked at her blankly, her face still red. "What? What do you mean?"

Regina's gaze returned back to Paige, a look of amusement in her eyes. "Of course," she laughed, "You wouldn't know. None of you do. Well then, let me tell you, witch. Let me tell you the grand plan that only the great Regina could have hatched."

Her eyes glinted, and she continued, "I was the one who told Gideon to get rid of the Twice-Blessed Child. I was the one who told him to destroy the one thing that could threaten both sides of magic- the child of the Charmed One and the Elder." She paused, a satisfied smile on her face as she saw confusion in Paige's face. "Dear old Regina."

"It was… you?" a faint voice murmured in the distance, shaky and weak. "You… You endangered my… son, you s…sick devil."

"So," Regina turned her head towards the faint voice, "the Whitelighter finally found the strength to speak. Yes, me. It was I who planned the destruction of your beloved mentor and your first-born child. Me." Her eyes glared at Leo and Paige angrily, "And I would have been successful, too, if it weren't for your meddling wife and her sisters. Despicable witches, you disgust me."

"Heh," Paige smirked, "That's right, Regina. While I'm still around, you won't succeed."

Regina paused for a while, and seemed to be struck by what Paige had said. Then, to Paige's surprise, Regina laughed- a long, maniacal, and triumphant laugh. She looked around the room, then laughed again. "How are you going to stop me, witch? Look at you, Paige, you can't even free yourself! Your powers are useless here. By the looks of it, I've already succeeded."

Paige felt defeated. For the first time in her life, she was powerless. Then, hope shone in her eyes, and she defiantly glared at her captor. "My sisters… my sisters will save me, and we… we'll vanquish your sorry ass."

Another laugh echoed throughout the little room. "Ah. The legendary sisters- the Charmed Ones. But where are they, Paige? Where are your sisters to come and rescue you? Stuck at home, sniveling over the little…little brat, protecting him from the demons that I've sent their way."

Something clicked inside Paige's mind. "It was you, wasn't it? You were the one who sent the Witch Hunter to the manor, and all those demons!"

"Not only demons, Paige," Regina laughed, "but this." She waved her hand in front of her face, and it changed suddenly into Melissa, the new Whitelighter. Regina stared in amusement at the shock on Paige's face. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Y…You," Paige whispered, connecting the dots, "you? But then… You were the one who sent Leo here, weren't you? You needed him out of the way to get to my sisters! You…you…you're a shape-shifter!"

"Ah, but aren't you the brilliant one? Finally figured it out, eh?" Regina leered. She waved her hand once more, and she changed into another form, one that Paige knew all too well- Clyde. "It was so easy to get to you, Miss Halliwell," the Clyde-form said in its pre-adolescent voice, "so trusting and nurturing. Didn't even think that someone as harmless as me would pose a threat to you. Want another apple, Snow White?"

Right then and there, Paige was struck heavily with a harsh revelation. All those dizzy and fainting spells that she had been getting weren't the results of stress- they were the results of Poison Magick. Her stomach turned in disgust.

Regina waved her hand once more and shape-shifted into yet another form that Paige recognized, the Clyde-form disappearing. "G' afternoon there, miss. Reckless young 'uns running along." The husky voice sent shivers down Paige's spine. It was the new Groundskeeper. "The nosy Groundskeeper saw me change my form, couldn't have him rattin' out on me, now could I, miss? Naw, I couldn't take that risk. No sir, no how." The Groundskeeper-form flashed a toothless grin at Paige.

"But…" Paige began, her head spinning from the new revelation, "But, I was with Clyde when I saw you… How? Unless…"

"Ah, yes," the Groundskeeper smiled once more, "the pieces are starting to fit, ey? I can create clones, too. Shape-shiftin' ain't all I got, miss." The Groundskeeper-form burst into a fit of cackling laughter.

The Groundskeeper-form withdrew once more, and Regina returned to her true form. "And now, to finish what I've started. To destroy you and your sisters. This school will soon be mine, Paige, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Nothing."

_Nothing…_

_Nothing…_

_Nothing…_

Regina's voice echoed inside Paige's mind. _No_, she thought, _no!_ _Piper, Phoebe, where are you?_


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N BlueMoon32, vampireprincess86, aussiekazza14, kylie! Hey! Yippee! Im glad that you liked my story, even though it has taken me so long to update it! Im so sorry for the delay, but here's Chapter 14 for you! _ Chapter 14 

"Phoebe?" Piper called out, backing against a wall, "Phoebe! Get your butt in here, right now!" She thrust her hand once more, causing an explosion to rock the manor. "Phoebe! Phoebe, hurry!"

"You're mine, witch!" The warlock's eyes glinted and she pressed Piper against the wall, a fireball forming in her hands. "Your pathetic powers won't work on me!"

"Hai-yah!" A scream came from behind the warlock, a flying kick connecting to her face. She crashed into the couch, her fireball flying across the room. "Maybe hers doesn't work, but mine does."

"Phoebe, thank goodness! Where were you?" Piper said, running over to her younger sister, clutching her bleeding arm.

"Upstairs," Phoebe said, gasping for breath. "Just vanquished my own warlock. Make that one warlock plus one bounty hunter."

"This is crazy! I just vanquished one before her," Piper gestured toward the warlock, "and before that one even turned into ashes, she appeared. They just keep popping all over the entire manor!"

"I'm putting an end to this," Phoebe declared and reached into her pocket, pulling out a vial with an orange liquid. She hurled the potion at the downed warlock, and in the blink of an eye, the warlock and the couch both erupted into flames.

"Didn't like that couch very much anyway," Piper sighed. She froze the burning couch, the flames dancing around in the living room, and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the living room. Dousing the burning couch, Piper blew a wisp of hair that fell on her face. As soon as the flames were extinguished, Piper turned to her sister.

"It's been warlock central since yesterday!" Phoebe exclaimed, and then her eyes widened as a thought struck her. "Wait, do you think that there's a new evil convention that we didn't hear about? A let's-all-band-together-and-kill-the-Charmed-Ones meeting maybe?"

"I hope not," Piper said, equally alarmed, "With one sister short, we don't need this kind of trouble right now." Looking around her, Piper checked the damage caused by the latest attack. _If only Paige were here_, she thought, missing her youngest sister. "God, I miss Paige! Remember her, she with the white skin and the orbing power that kicked demon ass?"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Phoebe asked, a hopeful smile tugging at her lips.

Meeting her younger sister's gaze, Piper simply nodded in response. She turned upward and, along with Phoebe, called out to their youngest sister. "Paige! Paige!"

Piper and Phoebe waited for the trail of orbs that indicated the arrival of Paige, expecting the blue-white lights eagerly.

A minute passed. Nothing.

Another. Still nothing.

Another minute passed. Nothing.

The grandfather clock in the living room finally struck midnight, its bells ringing twelve times. Still nothing. No orb, no light, save for the dim lighting emanating from the antique lamps.

"That's odd," Phoebe said, anxiety creeping into her voice. "It doesn't take Paige this long to answer our calls. It isn't like her."

"Maybe she's sleeping, it is midnight," Piper replied, though she herself did not believe her explanation. "Maybe…" Piper stopped in mid-sentence, the fine hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end. She looked up, seemingly looking for something… or someone.

_Piper. _A voice called out to her, faint and weak. _Pi-per. Pi-per. _

"Maybe what, Piper?" Phoebe prodded, staring curiously at her older sister.

"Shhh," Piper snapped, putting a finger to her lips, "Didn't you hear that?" She strained her ears to search for the source of the voice calling out to her. It was vaguely familiar, but it was too faint for her to recognize.

"Hear what?" Phoebe asked, oblivious to the voice that her sister was hearing.

_Pi-per._

"There!" Piper looked at Phoebe, her eyes wide in surprise. "It called out to me again! Don't you hear it?" She pointed up, then to the left, pointing to Phoebe the way the voice floated around her.

Phoebe followed the direction Piper was pointing to, when she suddenly felt a chill crawl down her spine. She froze on the spot, sensing a presence floating near her.

_Phoe-be. _It called. _Phoe-be._

Phoebe moved closer to her sister, the anxiety in her chest growing as she heard the voice call her once again. _A lost spirit? _she thought, trying to feel the presence. As a Charmed One, Phoebe was accustomed to ghosts and hauntings; however, there was something different about this one. _No, not a spirit, but something very familiar. _

_Help me-ee._ The voice floated closer, growing weaker and weaker. _Please. Help…_

Then it was gone.

"What the hell was that?" Piper said, rubbing her arms with clammy hands. "You heard it, too, right?"

"I…" Phoebe said, still trying to feel the presence that floated around her only a few seconds ago. "Yes, I did. It was… I know that this might seem weird, but the voice sounded…"

"Familiar?" Piper finished her sentence.

"Yeah," Phoebe nodded, "but it was too faint, I couldn't really…" Before she could finish her sentence, Phoebe heard the fading voice again.

Help… 

Then, without warning, her eyes rolled into her head, a vision assaulting her. The premonition was so strong that her legs buckled. She felt her body go slack, vaguely aware of Piper catching her.

_Paige bound and tied to the floor._

_A circle of flames._

_Cruel laughter floating around her._

_Melissa holding a knife over Paige._

_The taste of blood._

_Number 17. _

"Paige!" Phoebe snapped out of her vision. She gasped for breath, the taste of blood- Paige's mouth- still fresh in her mouth. Struggling to catch her breath, she clutched on to Piper, her eyes filled with terror at what she had just seen. She was about to tell Piper what she saw in her premonition when she felt something warm trickle down her cheeks. Blood.

"Phoebe!" Piper cried in alarm, and hurriedly led her sister to the couch. "What… what…" Panicking, Piper instinctively called out to their seemingly benevolent Whitelighter. "Melissa! Melissa!"

"NO!" Phoebe screamed, "She's a…" A trail of blue white lights appeared before she could finish her warning, and Phoebe knew it was too late; all this time, they willingly allowed evil inside the house.


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Here's Chapter 15 for you guys! Gods, you really inspire me so much! thank you for the reviews and the kind words._

_hugs to everyone_

Chapter 15

"Phoebe!" Melissa rushed to the Charmed One. "What happened?" She knelt and reached out to heal Phoebe, when her charge flinched.

"Don't touch me, whoever, whatever, you are," Phoebe threatened, anger burning in her eyes. She gingerly wiped the blood with the back of her hand, and slowly got to her feet; she leaned on to Piper for support, still feeling weak from her vision.

"Phoebe?" Melissa looked at Phoebe, then to Piper, confused.

"Uh, Phoebes?" Piper whispered, helping Phoebe stay on her feet. "What's going on?" She looked at Phoebe, then to Melissa. _Something's not right about her,_ Piper thought as she studied their Whitelighter, _something's different_.

Ignoring Piper, Phoebe glared at Melissa unwaveringly and began to question her, "Where's Paige? What did you do to our sister?"

"What…"

"Where is our sister?" Phoebe was seething, her voice ringing with barely controlled anger.

Melissa was confused and could do nothing but to stare at the two witches in front of her; bewilderment marred her eyes.

Piper was equally puzzled. She studied the Whitelighter, and began to see that she was squirming uncomfortably from where she stood. "Melissa?"

"Your phony act won't work on us anymore. I saw you in my premonition, impostor," Phoebe growled, "Where are you hiding our sister?" Phoebe saw, with her peripheral vision, Piper's eyes widen with shock and understanding.

Piper's shoulders tensed. She raised her hands, ready to either freeze or blow Melissa up if she as much as thought of doing something nasty.

Much to the sisters' surprise, Melissa threw her hands up in the air, seemingly in defeat. "I knew it couldn't be this easy," she said with a sneer, her voice grew steely, almost metallic. Her eyes screamed murder, and in a heartbeat, a small ceremonial dagger appeared in her hands. "I should have summoned stronger demons to get rid of you."

"So it was you," Piper said in realization, momentarily thrown off balance by Melissa's confession."You're the one who's been sending all those demons after us!" She couldn't believe it; she trusted this woman with their lives for the last couple of months. _You're gonna pay for this_, Piper thought furiously.

"Well, aren't you the smart one, Piper?" Melissa said in mock approval. "Yes, it was me, meek Melissa, always waiting at the sidelines, waiting to be called by the Charmed Ones."

"Why?"

"Why?" Melissa said, taking a step forward, "Because I needed you out of my way, that's why. I needed to get the youngest into my trap, my web, and get rid of her. But I couldn't very well do that, now can I? Not with you two- not with the Power of Three." She pointed her dagger at Piper, who had raised her hands again. "I had a hard enough time, too, sending all those demons after those pesky Whitelighters that they sent to guide you after Leo. But then, I knew that I only needed to bide my time and wait, wait until I got the perfect opportunity to convince them to 'hire' me to look over you. When those Elders finally did, I knew it was my time to strike."

"You sick little bitch," Phoebe roared and, on instinct, lunged forward, propelling herself high up to the ceiling with her ability to levitate. Before Melissa could even react, she stretched her left foot out, smashing the impostor's face with the force of a wrecking ball.

Overwhelmed by the force of Phoebe's attack, Melissa flew backward and smashed into the grandfather clock. Wood and shards of glass rained down on the carpet as her back collided with the family antique. Melissa fell down with a loud thud, her dagger slipping away from her grip, and laid limp and unmoving in the pool of splinter and glass.

Then, in the literal blink of the eye, her body vanished into thin air in a red glow.

The anger drained away from Phoebe's body, and was quickly replaced by confusion. "What just happened here? She threatens to kill us, and Paige, then suddenly vanishes in thin air?"

"I don't know," Piper said, equally puzzled. "You kicked, she flew, then she vanished. It was as if she weren't th…" she trailed off, a thought suddenly inching through her brain. "That's it! She wasn't really there in the first place. Oh for crying out loud, she was a clone, Phoebe!"

"Piper, wait, slow down," Phoebe frowned, her eyebrows shot up, "I'm not really following your thought train here. A clone? She seemed pretty real to me, well, until now."

"Well, not exactly a clone," Piper said, slowing down and trying to explain to Phoebe her theory. "It was… it was more of a projection. Remember when…when," Piper bit her lips to stop them from trembling as she forced herself to continue, pain overwhelming from the memory she was about to bring up. "Remember when Prue used to play astral games with us? She used to project herself to where we were from out of nowhere, tease us, and then plain vanish when we got pissed in that same red glow. She was somehow in there, with us, but not really." She sighed a breath of relief as the frown on Phoebe's face melted into that of understanding.

_Prue_, Phoebe smiled sadly. _What I wouldn't give to see you astral back in the middle of the night and scare the hell out of me._ _God, I miss you, Prue._ She shook her head and, looking back at Piper, nodded, her sister's idea suddenly making sense. "Wait, so if she were just a projection, then she's got to be astral-projecting from somewhere else. Question is- where? And…"

"And more importantly," Piper continued, "How? How could she astral project? She is, well was, or is," she stopped mid-sentence, brows furrowed, "supposedly a Whitelighter, and Whitelighters don't have the power to astral project- never have and never could. It's strictly Witch magic."

"Unless," Phoebe went on, picking up on Piper's thought train, "our little friend Melissa is a power- hungry thief. She's a…"

"Warlock."

Phoebe nodded. "Right. So if she were a warlock, then that must mean that she also stole a Whitelighter's power to orb."

"Right," Piper agreed, deep in thought. "So it's safe to assume that we have one dead astral-projecting witch and one dead Whitelighter. And in the absence of her," she pointed at the pool of wood and glass that lay on the carpet, "as prisoner and any contact with the rest of the supernatural world to confirm our suspicions, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yep," Phoebe cut in.

"Watcher." The two sisters said in unison.


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Tiger's eye, afw, louis, and Danielle, thank you so much for reviewing! Your reviews really keep me going!_ _Here is chapter 16 for you guys. Hope you'll like it!  _Chapter 16 

Watchers were the most reliable source of news and information about the happenings in the supernatural world. They keep tight watch on everything magical- from the birth of a centaur to the coronation of a new Coven leader- they knew everything. However, they were very private beings, preferring to keep to their own. They disclose information only to high-ranking officials of the magical world, such as Coven leaders and Elders, and high-ranking demons such as Dark Priests and Overlords. As such, they chose to remain neutral, not really choosing a side, and opted to relay coveted information to the highest bidder. The price for their help? Magic itself.

Piper and Phoebe had never had any contact with Watchers, but they had heard Leo mention their kind once or twice in the past, warning them about the ramifications of working with the hard bargains that these Watchers strike for the information they possessed. According to Leo, there had been one case of an amateur witch who was foolish enough to summon a Watcher and tried to barter with it for its information. She got the information that she looked for all right, but with the absence of the required payment, the Watcher nonchalantly drained the witch of all her magic, leaving her catatonic and empty.

After weighing the consequences of summoning a Watcher, Piper and Phoebe both agreed that the need was far too great that they were ready to risk their lives and their magic.

Resolution unwavering, Piper and Phoebe began to cast the summoning spell. After chanting the incantation for the third time, Phoebe clapped and a swirl of purple light showered down into the living room from the ceiling. In a heartbeat, a woman in a purple robe materialized in front of the two Charmed Ones.

"Blessed Be," the woman said in a strong voice, and pulled back the hood of her robe, revealing a set of three eyes. Two were located where one would normally expect to find eyes, and one was situated in the center of her forehead. All three of her eyes studied Piper, then Phoebe. "Ah, the Charmed Ones."

Piper nodded in response. "My sister and I are in desperate need of some information, Watcher. And we were hoping that you could help us with that."

"Of course," the Watcher said, then fixed her gaze on Piper, "You do know the price that we seek in exchange for that you seek."

"Yes," Phoebe answered, "A portion of our magic in exchange for the answers that we need."

"That is correct."

"Watcher," Piper said, her tone urgent, eager to find her youngest sister and solve the mystery of Melissa's true identity. "We don't have much time, if you don't mind, I'm going straight to the point."

The Watcher simply nodded. "All right."

"Good. A warlock attacked us earlier, one who could both astral project and orb. Have there been any attacks on astral-project…"

Before Piper could ask the rest of her question, the Watcher's eyes glossed over, and turned white- all three of them, as she searched in her mind for the information that Piper sought. After a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes and shook her head. "No; there have been no news about astral-projecting witches in danger. However, there have been reports of the disappearance of a telekinetic witch three days ago. Beyond that, there have been no other reports regarding witches in danger. And no, there have been no attacks against Whitelighters lately as well."

Piper's mouth dropped. _Wow, they really do know everything_, Piper thought, awed.

"However, there is something," the Watcher's eyes riveted to Piper, and fixed her with a stare. She did not continue further, and instead, continued to look at Piper intently.

"What?" Phoebe studied the Watcher's face. She could see that she was torn between telling and not telling them something. And from the look in her eyes, she knew that this "something" affected the Charmed Ones in a huge way, most especially Piper. _What could it be?_ "What are you not telling us?"

Silence.

"Well?" Piper looked curiously at the Watcher. "What is it?"

"The answers you seek have already been provided to you," the Watcher said, "Through her." She pointed at Phoebe. "You only need to look deeper to find them."

"Me?" Phoebe blinked, and remembered her premonition. "Oh, you mean my premonition. But it didn't tell me much." She looked disappointed as she remembered the small flashes that she saw from her premonition.

"What else did you see, Phoebe?" Piper looked at her sister, "Besides Melissa's real identity."

Phoebe closed her eyes and told Piper what she saw- Paige, the circle of flames, Melissa, and the number 17. "I figured that Melissa held Paige hostage, but I couldn't really see where, all I had was this number 17, which really doesn't fit in."

"Maybe it's a hotel room?" Piper said hopefully. "Or an apartment number."

"Possible," Phoebe agreed. "But which one? There are at least twenty hotels all over the area, and I don't know where to begin." Phoebe sighed exasperatedly. "And we don't have anything to scry with!"

The Watcher walked forward, and took Phoebe's hand in hers. "The way is lost to those who have given up hope. The answer does not lie in desperation. Look deeper, Charmed One, and you shall find the answers." The Watcher sang a spell, and almost immediately, Phoebe gasped and blacked out once more, completely overwhelmed by another premonition.

"Phoebe!" Before she fell to the ground, Piper reached forward and grabbed her sister. She held Phoebe and watched as her younger sister's eyelids flutter rapidly under the strain of the new premonition. "What did you do to her?" Piper demanded, glaring at the Watcher.

"Watch." She simply said, without further explanation.

Piper did, and was surprised to see Phoebe's lips moving, as if she were talking with someone else. She couldn't understand what Phoebe was saying, her words inaudible whispers to the wind. But Piper caught one word, that one single word that caught her breath.

"Paige."


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Tiger'sEye, afw, danielle, and homer. thank you so much for reviewing my work :) it means a lot to me. here's chapter 17 for you guys! Hope you'll like it! what would Phoebe see in this latest premonition? and what payment would the Watcher ask for in exchange of her services? _

Chapter 17

"Paige!" Phoebe cried in horror as the first thing she saw as her vision adjusted to her new environment was her sister lying on the ground, bound and unconscious. "Paige!" She was in a circle of fire, the orange and red flames leaping high up to the ceiling. _Wait, this is exactly what I saw in my premonition_, Phoebe realized. And, as if on cue, another smaller circle of flames, its fires blue, erupted in the center of the dimly lit room. Soon, laughter filled the room, a shrill and maniacal sound, like sharp nails being scraped against a blackboard.

She spun around, and gaped at what she saw next. Only five feet away from Paige was Leo, tied naked to a post, pale and barely breathing. "Leo!" _What's he doing here? _Questions raced inside Phoebe's mind, running through her head like scared mice. She couldn't focus and think clearly. _Paige. Leo._ _What's going on?_

Before Phoebe could process the entire scene in front of her, a cloaked figure blinked in front of Paige, a small dagger in its hand.

"No," Phoebe heard Leo whisper weakly, "Don't hurt her."

_Melissa_, Phoebe thought angrily, recognizing the figure from her premonition. She turned her attention back to Paige.

Phoebe's shoulders tensed, as she saw Melissa raise the dagger above her head, ready to strike Paige. On instinct, she sprang forward, attempting to knock the dagger out of the warlock's grasp. Much to her surprise, instead of hitting the warlock's raised hand, Phoebe's own hand passed through it, as if she were a ghost.

"What the?" Phoebe looked down at her hand, and gave a yelp of surprise. She was transparent- her hand, her feet, her entire body. "How?" Then, remembering what happened in the Manor with the Watcher, she realized that she, or rather her body, wasn't really in there with Paige- her mind was. _Her spell must have pulled me back into my premonition_, she thought, _so that I could 'look deeper.'_

Expecting to see Melissa lower her hood and reveal herself to Paige before killing her, Phoebe jumped back as she saw another figure materialize a few feet behind Melissa. Squinting her eyes, she was stunned, recognizing the figure when her eyes focused- it was Melissa herself.

"The hell?" _If that's Melissa, then who's this?_

"I'm sorry," Melissa muttered to the cloaked figure, "I failed. They were too strong for me."

This isn't my premonition, Phoebe suddenly realized, I'm in it! All this is happening now! 

Realizing the danger that Paige was in, Phoebe began to find means of freeing Paige. She tried diving for the rope, but it was no use- she was a ghost here, wherever here was. She tried unbinding spells, but to her frustration, they didn't work. Phoebe was going to attempt a shot at another spell when she heard the cloaked figure speak.

"No matter," it said, "We have all the time here in Magic School, don't we, Paige? She won't be going anywhere with Arachne's Rope binding her." It turned around to face Paige and at an invisible Phoebe. "We'll just settle for torture first." The hooded figure spoke seductively into the darkness, "Then, when I'm through with her, she'll beg me to end her life."

"NO!" Phoebe screamed. But before she could do anything, an invisible force began to pull her; a black hole of energy that clamped down on her and dragged her back- to her body and out of her premonition.

Phoebe's eyes fluttered and snapped open instantly, her mouth still opened in an ear-piercing scream. Then she stopped as soon as she felt her premonition end. She felt a pair of hands holding her, and realized that she was back in the Manor. "Flames. Danger. Melissa. Cloak." She uttered senselessly, her brain still wrapped up with her latest premonition.

"Easy, Phoebe," Phoebe heard Piper from behind her, and realized that she was wheezing, the breath knocked out from her. Phoebe let Piper help her to the couch and drew in quick breaths. She forced herself to calm down, told Piper and the Watcher what she saw.

"Wait. Back up. Did you just say Leo?" Piper said, incredulous, eyes widening in confusion. "You saw my husband? In Magic School? But… But I… I thought that he… he," Piper stuttered, fear and panic rising. "How could we be so blind?" Piper's fear turned to rage, and now anger crept into her. Her blood was boiling and it took every ounce of her self-control not to blow the nearest article of furniture up. "I should have seen this coming! We shouldn't have trusted that bitch!"

"We couldn't have, Piper, not even me. I have the power to see, remember?" Phoebe said, reassuring her sister and rubbing her throbbing head. "We were led to believe that Leo was in a faraway dimension. Paige has been teaching in Magic School for quite some time, and she didn't even know that Leo was right there with him. And we thought that Paige was safe, too, because she in Magic School. It's Magic School, for goodness' sakes! Demons are getting more and more creative these days." She reached over and touched Piper's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "We're going to save them and get them back, Piper."

"Damn right we will! And when I get my hands on that bitch, she'll regret the day she ever laid a hand on my husband and my sister." Piper stood and began to pace the living room. Thoughts were whirring inside her head, ideas coming and going, images of Leo and Paige alone and helpless. Unable to contain her anger any longer, Piper thrust her hands forward, blowing a nearby vase up with her powers.

"Anger will not solve anything. The answer lies within the sister's vision," the Watcher advised, "and the unity of the Charmed Ones."

"Right," Piper said. Closing her eyes, Piper momentarily stopped walking and took a breath, willing the tension in her body to dissolve. She inhaled sharply, taking in another breath, and released it.

"My vision," Phoebe agreed. She looked at the Watcher, gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you for showing me, showing us, and helping us find our sister. We would probably still be searching in vain if it weren't for your help."

The Watcher simply bowed, "Do not thank me yet, Charmed One. Everything comes for a price. And the price that I ask for is steep." She chanted another spell in the same language that she used earlier, and in a heartbeat, her eyes- all three of them- turned completely white. Her brows were furrowed, and her once peaceful face was marred with anger and indignation.

_Is she talking with someone else?_ Piper thought, looking uneasily around the living room of the Manor; her frustration momentarily subsided and forgotten at the Watcher's sudden outburst.

Finally, the Watcher sang another phrase in the alien language, the color of her eyes returning. "Your Book of Shadows," she declared nonchalantly, which caused Phoebe's eyes to widen in alarm.


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N:TigersEye- hehe, got to keep you hanging for a while, just to build up the suspense for a little bit.. but here's chapter 18! Thank you for the kind review! _

_WyaRose- hey there. Thank you so much for the kind words! you really really inspire me to continue writing! Im so happy that you're loving this fic. thank you so much! Here is chapter 18 for you! _

_Afw- hehe, a few surprises just to build up the suspense! _

_Danielle- here's an update, as requested! _

_Everyone, thank you for reviewing my work. Here is chapter 18 for all of you! __J _

Chapter 18 

"Excuse me?" Piper said, her guards rising as well. The Book of Shadows was the most sacred of all the Halliwells' belongings. No one was allowed to touch it- absolutely no one. Not a mortal, not even a fellow witch. And most especially, not a being with three eyes who spoke in an alien language.

"I need your Book of Shadows," the Watcher simply said, without acknowledging Piper and Phoebe's alarm. "For the fulfillment of your payment for the service I have rendered."

"Uh…" Phoebe said, clearly at a loss for words. "Couldn't we settle for anything else? I thought that the payment was magic?"

"Yes," the Watcher agreed, "The required payment is indeed magic, and in this case, the magic of your Book, which is interconnected with yours. And the payment I need is in another form that you did not expect. In exchange for the information I have shared, I need magical information from the Book." She was silent, and her eyes met the gaze of the Charmed Ones. "An agreement has been made. Will you dishonor it?"

"No," Piper finally said, giving in to the Watcher's request. "To the attic then," she said quickly, before Phoebe could protest further. Leading the way to the attic, Piper turned to the Watcher and asked, "What exactly are you looking for? I thought you guys knew everything."

"We do. But I have been contacted by my sisters with a warning. There is an imminent threat," the Watcher said, tone serious and stern, "one that we believe is recognized by only one of your ancestors- a Warren witch; thus, inscribed in your Tome. A threat that will soon spread like wildfire through the magical community and will decimate us all if you do not act fast to stop it. A threat that threatens to smother the very core of good magic."

A chill ran through Phoebe's spine. "Demon?"

"We could only hope," the Watcher said solemnly.

Reaching the top of the stairway, Piper pushed the door of the attic and stepped aside to let the Watcher in. "There," she pointed at the podium where the Book of Shadows rested.

In three quick strides, the Watcher was soon standing before the Book. Almost immediately, the pages of the Book of Shadows fluttered open, as if controlled by an invisible hand. The Watcher simply looked, scanning the yellowed pages as fast as they turned.

"The Book recognizes her," Phoebe whispered to Piper.

"Mmm-hmmm," Piper said, her gaze never leaving the Watcher.

"Here," the Watcher beckoned them to come closer as the pages of the Book stopped turning. Piper and Phoebe walked closer to the Watcher, flanking her. A hand-painted portrait of three hooded and robed figures forming a circle around a cauldron greeted them. Piper gaped as she saw horns sprouting at the top of each of the figure's head. All three of them were wearing black robes, their heads bowed over the cauldron. The word **TRIUMVIRATE** was etched in silver ink in an intricate calligraphy on the top of the page.

"The Triumvirate," Piper read aloud, stifling the urge to shiver, "The Triumvirate is akin to the Triad only they are more powerful and more ancient, their evil and power dating back to prehistoric humans. Some covens believe that they have been lying in dormant sleep, waiting to wreak havoc upon the world. One or two members have been reported to resurface once every century or so, give or take a decade, causing massive damage and destruction. It is best to take caution when dealing with these foul creatures, for their evil magic is supremely powerful. They are experienced shapeshifters, capable of changing their forms to adapt the time and era they awaken in. Each member has his own magic, but together, they can call upon darkness that can swallow the earth."

Piper looked at the Watcher, who had suddenly gone quiet. Unbridled anger was carved into the Watcher's once peaceful face.

Inhaling deeply, the Watcher shook her head and removed her gaze from the Book, turning to the sisters. "My sisters believe that they have resurfaced once more, called upon the urge to bring upon chaos once more into this world."

"Well, then. Why don't we just put that on the to-do list? Let's see, buy orange juice, get some herbs, and what's the next in the list? Oh yeah, save the world," Phoebe said sarcastically, eyes drawn to the picture of the Triumvirate. Phoebe noticed that something red was painted on their horns. Thinking that their ancestor had used the wrong color of ink to draw the portrait, she leaned in for a closer look. Upon closer inspection, she realized, with a start, that it wasn't a mistake at all. It was blood- and in the center of the cauldron, laid a woman's head, swimming in the same red ink. "Oh my God!" she screamed, and pointed at the cauldron.

Piper followed her gaze and gasped. She shivered despite the heat, and cold sweat broke on her forehead. "When exactly are they going to resurface?"

"It is not clear to us," the Watcher said, her voice weak. "The very fabric of magic- its core and essence- has fogged and trembled, and we cannot see through the haze. Something is blocking our power, and we suspect that it is their doing. All we know is that they are going to strike. Soon."

"Oh," Phoebe simply said, still shocked from the image that she saw in the Book of Shadows. Facing the Triumvirate sent tremors of fear, and Phoebe tried her best to maintain a façade of courage and strength; but deep inside, she shook.

"It is best that you save your sister now," the Watcher advised, "and unite with her and her magic. The Power of Three is our only hope against this ev…" Before the Watcher could finish her sentence, she clutched her chest, her eyes bulging. She screamed, an ear-splitting scream. "Sister! No!" Then suddenly, the Watcher was gone, vanishing in a swirl of purple light.

Piper sprang forward, "What the? Where did she go? What happened?"

Steeling herself, Phoebe closed her eyes and blocked the image from her consciousness. However, when she opened them, her eyes turned completely white, similar to what happened to the Watcher's eyes earlier. "The Triumvirate has struck and drawn first blood, Charmed Ones," Phoebe said in a different voice, a voice loud as thunder. "Prepare yourself. A war is coming."

Piper realized that it wasn't Phoebe talking to her- it was a Watcher speaking through her sister, using her body as a messenger.

However, before Piper could press for more questions, Phoebe's body grew very still, as if frozen by Piper's powers. Almost immediately, a shadow crossed her face, and she jumped with a start, seemingly waking up from a nightmare. "Piper!" She shivered, "What happened? One minute the Watcher was warning us, then she was gone, and then I must have blacked-out or something."

"You didn't remember what happened in the last two seconds?" She looked at her sister. "The Watcher," she paused, looking for a word that defined what happened, "she jumped into your body for a couple of seconds, and you acted as a conduit for her, like a medium."

"Huh? So you mean I acted like a human crystal ball for her?"

Piper grinned, "Yeah, something like that. I think your powers are growing, Phoebes. I mean, you were able to have a premonition without even touching anything, right? And now you can channel the thoughts and energies of another magical being. Your psychic skills are growing."

"You think so?" Phoebe asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I know so," Piper nodded, "And we're going to need those powers of yours to save our sister and my husband. Let's go start with your vision, and then from there, we figure out how we get to Paige and Leo and kick the ass of whoever kidnapped them. No one messes with the Halliwells."


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: October27- hey! Yay, thank you for the kind words! Reviews like yours really inspire me to writeJ im glad that you're enjoying this fic._

_WyaRose- again, you're making me blush! J and im so honored that you think that I channel the real Charmed writers through my fic. This fic is dedicated to readers like you! Oh, and I got the name "Triumvirate" from one of the Buffy novels ive read way back. The name's the same, but the demons I have in this fic are totally mine. :-D_

_Afw- yeah, I inserted a little Charmed humor here. I missed the humor of the show!_

_TigersEye- me thinks I should be dubbed as the mighty cliffhangerQueen hehehe J I am **so** happy that you're loving this fic J_

_Thank you for the kind words, my dear readers. For you- Chapter 19! Chapter 19 is kinda long, but I do hope that you enjoy reading it! I love you guys and gals!_

_also, i want to clarify something. Arachne's Rope only binds the active powers of witches. the reason Paige was able to send the Witch Message is that her telepathy is part of her passive powers. :)_

**Chapter 19 **

"Okay, so it's settled then," Piper said, adding hemlock and salt in her cauldron. Her eyes shifted from cauldron to Phoebe, mixing up a vanquishing potion. "We cast the spell that would bring us to Magic School, find this classroom number 17, and then we split up. And…"

"Since we have the element of surprise," Phoebe continued, "you freeze the entire room while I untie Paige with this." Phoebe had recalled hearing the cloaked figure mention a certain Arachne's Rope that had bound Paige; following her intuition, she had searched the Book of Shadows for it, and had found the solution. She had found an entry in the Book about the artifact, detailing how it boundthe active powers of witchesand how to undo its binding properties. Now, she was holding a small sheet of paper, a spell written in small handwriting in the center. "Then, while the entire room is still frozen, we look for and rescue Leo."

"Alrighty then," Piper said, walking over to Phoebe, two vials of vanquishing potion in hand, and began to shift through it to look for the spell that would take them to Paige. Placing her right hand on top of the yellowed pages, she pictured Paige and Leo, mentally asking the Book to help them. After a heartbeat, the Book began to magically open, its pages turning by themselves. Finally, the pages stopped moving, the page in front of them containing the exact spell that they needed. _Thank you_, she mouthed to the ancestress that helped them. Then, turning to Phoebe, "Shall we?"

Phoebe and Piper studied the Book and, taking each other's hands, began to chant. They chanted in unison, their voices weaving magic and invoking their power.

"Hear these words, hear the rhyme,

I invoke our magic in this time,

Take us to where our sister dwells,

Heed now the power of this spell."

Light swirled around the two Charmed Ones, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

…

"Miss Halliwell," a tiny voice whined behind Paige, calling her, slowly bringing her back to consciousness. "Miss Halliwell, please wake up."

_Clyde?_ Paige thought groggily, clearly disoriented and dizzy. Colors swam in front of her, shapes indistinguishable. _Clyde? _Paige woke with a start, and felt jolts of pain rushing coursing through her entire body.

"Miss Halliwell, please," the tone pleaded.

Hearing the desperation in the voice's tone, Paige suppressed the pain she was feeling, and forced herself to sit upright. She opened her eyes and gave out a yelp of surprise- she was sitting face-to-face the cloaked figure. She felt her heart literally skip a beat.

"Boo!" The cloaked figure laughed once more, its maniacal sound echoing throughout the entire room. "Finally, the witch has awakened; the fun can now begin!" She pulled the hood of her cloak down, and the stare of Regina's icy blue eyes pierced Paige- her gaze penetrating deep into her skull.

"My sisters will come for me," Paige managed, despite her dry throat. "And when they d…"

Regina thrust her foot forward before Paige could continue, her foot connecting with Paige's jaw. She crouched in front of Paige and lunged forward, grabbing a handful of Paige's hair and yanking it forward. "You don't get it, do you, Paige?" She gritted her teeth and growled, "This is bigger than you or your sisters. This is bigger than what your little mind can understand." She pushed Paige's head forward, and laughed as it hit the floor with a thud.

"Ugh," Paige winced in pain, as her head hit the cold marble floor.

"This is even bigger than me, my plans. Did you know that they offered me great power? Me. They chose me." She whispered, her voice low with barely contained anticipation. "Magic beyond your charmed powers, magic that you can't even begin to imagine. First, Magic School, and then, your Book, and then, the world." Regina rubbed her hands furiously, her eyes vacant and preoccupied, retreating into her own world. She was completely taken in by her ambitions and delusions of power, unaware of the small swirling lights magically forming in the center of the room.

"Care to bet on that one?"

"Who goe…" Regina's eyes widened in shock, but could do nothing more as her entire body froze. She stood there like a malevolent statue, a mixture of anger and bewilderment burning in her eyes, caught in the power of Piper's freeze.

"Phoebe, hurry," Piper said, her body appearing in a swirl of light. She hurriedly strode forward, her hands outstretched, focusing her power to freeze the entire room. "I can feel her fighting her way through my hold." As her eyes adapted to the dim lighting of the room, she focused her concentration on holding the woman who was standing ominously standing a few feet in front of Paige, making sure that her freeze stayed. "Get Paige, now!"

As soon as her body materialized completely, Phoebe glared at the frozen woman and rushed to Paige, who was still lying where she had seen her from her enhanced premonition. "Paige," she whispered as she knelt beside her unconscious sister, "Paige, we're here, everything's going to be all right." Spell in hand, she touched Paige's hands and began to chant, the words rolling out of her tongue smoothly.

"From this rope, its magic we drain,

Free now, my sister, from her pain.

Magic that has been bound,

Run free inside the circle round."

A handful of blue orbs appeared in Phoebe's hands as she finished her chant. Instinctively knowing what to do, she flung the orbs at the rope that bound Paige. She heard a short hiss, and then, Arachne's Rope fell, releasing its grip on Paige. "Piper! She's free!"

Piper looked a few feet across the room at Phoebe, who was helping Paige sit up. She noticed cuts and bruises on her youngest sister's face, and a fresh wound on her neck. _Oh Goddess, please let her be all right._ Piper uttered a silent prayer. Worry broke Piper's concentration for a second; and Regina grabbed the opportunity to break free of Piper's hold on her.

"Witch!" Regina screamed in anger, feeling her plans starting to fall apart. She flung her hand out, telekinetically sending Piper flying backwards.

"Phoebe!" She called out as she sailed in an arc through the air,

Phoebe watched in horror as Piper flew across the room, and landed on a wooden desk. The impact of her fall caused the desk to break, sending pieces of wood everywhere. "Piper!" Instinctively, she thrust her foot out and swept it into a clean arc under the woman's feet, knocking her down.

"I'm fine!" She called back. "That bitch!" Piper winced in pain, as she felt the nails from the desk dig deep into her back and scrape against her bare arms. Ignoring the pain, she gritted her teeth and furiously shot her hands forward, freezing the room once more. She forced herself to her feet, even as pain washed over her. _That is so gonna bruise in the morning_, she thought angrily.

Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw Phoebe purposely position herself in front of Paige, using her body as a shield to protect the unconscious Charmed One. She noticed that Phoebe's muscles were tense; ready to spring into action again once the woman broke free of her hold. Piper was about to take another step forward, when she heard someone call her name- a faint, weak whisper reaching out from behind her.

"Piper?" A weak, raspy voice called.

"Leo!" Piper cried out, recognizing her husband's voice instantly. She turned around, following Leo's voice, and almost doubled over in shock. She felt her heart skip a beat, and then, hammer relentlessly inside her chest. Just a few feet in front of her was her soul mate, tied to a marble post, pale and weak. His eyes were barely open, and Piper saw that he was slowly losing consciousness. "Leo, hang in there. I'm coming!"

Deciding not to take the risk of exhausting her magic as she kept the entire room frozen, Piper turned and directed her gaze back to the woman who had sent her flying only a couple of seconds ago, and decided to just focus her hold on her. Narrowing her eyes, she cast a simple binding spell, one that tripled her freezing power. She chanted the spell thrice, making sure that the spell had enough power to hold a dozen elephants. Then, scanning the room, she looked at Phoebe and told her to stay with Paige. "That bitch won't be going anywhere, not with that binding spell I cast on her." Then, she gestured toward Leo.

Phoebe nodded as she saw Piper limping toward her their Whitelighter. Even though she had already seen Paige and Leo through her enhanced premonition, it still shocked her to see her sister and brother-in-law terribly hurt like this. She stared at the frozen woman- who she realized was the hooded figure from her premonition- and glared. _You're going to pay for this, whoever you are_. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Paige, who was still unconscious. Unbidden, a chant came into Phoebe's mind, and she recognized it instantly as a minor healing spell. _Blessed Be the Goddess, _she thanked the Deity for sending her the spell; and, without a moment's hesitation, she cast the spell on Paige, building her magical power as she chanted, and gasped as a warm amber light erupted in her palms. Without a moment's hesitation, she placed her palm above Paige, and asked the warm light to heal her sister.

Piper saw what Phoebe was doing and mentally gave her younger sister a pat in the back. She then returned her attention back to her husband, who was smiling weakly at her. "Hey there, stranger," she whispered as she drew closer to Leo. "Holding up okay?" She tried to joke, trying to maintain a face of courage, even though she was breaking up inside. It hurt her to see her husband like this. Leo was the epitome of good, and she could not understand how someone can do this to someone so pure. Piper felt tears welling in her eyes, sobs threatening to overwhelm her.

"Hey," Leo whispered, his voice husky. "You're looking good." He managed to smile weakly, attempting to lighten the situation, for both him and Piper. He tried to laugh; but, his throat was dry, and all that came out from him were jagged barks, followed by a fit of cough.

"Shhh," Piper soothed him, running her fingers down his smooth chest. "We're gonna get you out in a jiffy." Tears were already flowing down the side of her face as she went behind Leo, and worked on untying the ropes that bound Leo. She fumbled around, tugging at the rope and looking for a loose knot- there weren't any. Frustration boiled inside her, and she felt her anger slowly taking control. _I don't have time for this crap_, Piper thought, her mind flaring with impatience. "This is going to hurt a bit, Leo," she warned as she focused all of her anger into a sphere of magic. Then, with a precise gesture, she channeled the sphere of magic into her hands, using her powers to blow the ropes up.

The ropes didn't physically explode as Piper expected; instead, the tightly knotted rope gave a small hiss and dropped to the ground, their magic drained. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, she ambled quickly to Leo's side and draped an arm around him. "Slowly now," she said, taking one step at a time, taking in Leo's weight and carefully guiding him to where Phoebe and Paige were. She sighed in relief, seeing Paige gaining consciousness, as they got closer to her two sisters. "Okay, we're almost there," she said, turning back to Leo, "Easy does it."

Once they were only a foot away from Phoebe and Paige, Piper could see that a bit of color had returned to Paige's cheeks. _Thank Goddess_, she whispered as she lowered Leo to the floor, motioning for him to lie down. She then removed her coat, bundled it into a ball, and eased it under Leo's head. "How are you holding up?" She managed, forcing back a sob.

"Fine, now that you're here," Leo whispered, his eyes opening momentarily, and then closing heavily. For a minute, he stopped breathing.

"Leo?" Piper began, panic rising. Slowly, she saw small light blue orbs circling around his body, and realized that Leo was using his healing powers on himself. Piper knew full well that as a self-preservation mechanism, the bodies of every full- blooded Whitelighter automatically shut down when they enter critical condition. She also knew that Whitelighters were not to be disturbed when they were in this state. Piper was about to run a hand across Leo's peaceful face when she saw Paige stir.

"Phoe…be?" Paige's called, her voice sounded strained and hollow. "Pi…per?"

"Paige!" Phoebe squealed as she saw Paige's eyes flutter open. In a rush of emotion, she swept her arms around Paige and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Ow!" Paige screeched in pain. "Phoe…be, you're crushing my… ribs," she exhaled in between slow, jagged breaths. She licked her dry lips, and tasted something coppery and warm, realizing with a start that it was blood.

"What?" Phoebe quickly pulled back. "Oh! Oh, I am so sorry. It's just that it's so good to have you back, Paige! We thought… we thought that we were gonna lose you. We were afraid of losing another sister." She reached down and held one of Paige's hands in hers, giving it a tight squeeze.

Piper beamed at Paige's recovery. She stood and eased herself between Phoebe and Leo, taking in Paige's other hand. "It's great to have you back, sis."

"Right back at you," Paige said in a near-whisper. She inhaled deeply and tried to sit up, leaning on both Piper and Phoebe for support. She felt a wave of nausea rising, but refusing to give in, closed her eyes and pushed the wave of nausea down. Instead, she looked at her sisters, focused on them, and asked, "How… How did you know that I was in trouble?"

"I had a premonition," Phoebe answered, as she helped Paige into a sitting position. "It was actually kind'a weird, we were there in the living room, when suddenly, this voice called out to us. Then, a premonition hit me. It was like this voice sent the premonition to me."

"Yeah," Piper agreed, placing one hand behind Paige to support her. "It was weird, too. The voice sounded familiar. I could feel a strong connection with the voice- the bond I feel when Grams or Mom makes contact with us."

"You…got my… message then," Paige said, a small tingle of elation running through as her telepathic call actually worked. Paige explained that she had fooled Regina earlier into thinking that she had lost consciousness. Regina had not been aware that Paige had, in fact, entered a deep meditative state and projected her thoughts from Magic School to the Manor. "I figured that if you guys can call out to me, then that must mean that I could do the reverse somehow, through our connection as sisters, through the triquetra, and it…it actually worked."

"So it was you that we felt in the Manor?" Phoebe asked. _Our powers are growing stronger. This Triumvirate threat must be so huge that we're having our own power boosts_, she thought both gratefully and uneasily.

Paige gave Phoebe and Piper a wan smile.

"At'ta girl, Paige!" Piper gave Paige's hand a tight squeeze. She felt proud of Paige- she was continuously honing her powers as a witch.

The three sisters smiled at one another, reassured and thankful at being together once more.

Suddenly, without warning, a voice called out from behind. "How very sweet," a thick metallic voice floated from behind the sisters. All three of them turned back and gasped, as they saw Melissa- or rather, six Melissa's- standing near the circle of flames, glinting daggers in their hands. "Now, who shall we kill first?"


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: TigersEye- im glad that you're still enjoying my fic :)_

_Afw- oh I agree! Number 6- bad for them, and in Chapter 20, it's gonna get worse! _

_WyaRose- again, your reviews make me blush. Thank you so much for your kind words! I really had a great time writing the reunion part too, I feel that the show has neglected the fact the Charmed Ones are sisters- three sisters, not just Piper/Phoebe, but Piper, Phoebe, and Paige._

_VampirePrincess- yay! Its great to have you back! Ooh, hint a battle happens next. Hehe. Oh yeah, Phoebe and Paige had some new power advancements, its in Chapter 18 (for Phoebe) and 19 (for Paige). Basically, Phoebe can now act as a medium for Higher Spirits, and Paige can now send Telepathic Messages. :)_

_Thank you so much for the kind reviews! Here is Chapter 20, hope you'll like it as much as I loved writing it! **Hugs** to everyone! _

_P.S. just to clarify stuff, Arachne's Rope binds the active powers of witches, that reason Paige was able to send the witch message was that her telepathy was part of her passive powers as a half-Whitelighter. :)_

**Chapter 20**

"You'd think that she'd learned something from the first time we kicked her ass," Phoebe said as she spun around in a roundhouse kick, hitting one of Melissa's clones on the chest. As the clone flew across the room, another clone raced toward Phoebe from the left, the tip of its dagger aiming for her neck. She instinctively spun out of the way, and watched the dagger hit the space where she had been standing only a fraction of a second ago. Then, she swung the heel of her hand down, hard, on the clone's head, and heard a loud crack as the clone dropped to the ground, unconscious. Within seconds, the clone disappeared in a flash of red light. "I'm loving these odds! How about you, Piper?" Phoebe asked aloud, alternating between fending off her own set of enemies and looking at Piper battle her own.

Piper effortlessly flicked one of her hands at the clone to her left, and watched as it, too, disappeared in the same bright light. "Clean up in aisle three?" came Piper's reply. Clearly, she liked the odds as well. She flung her hands out and easily blew another clone up before turning to Paige. "Stay down," she called out as she saw her youngest sister poking her head out from under the protection circle that she and Phoebe had cast when the clones had appeared only moments ago.

Seeing that Paige was in no condition to fight and Leo unconscious, Piper and Phoebe had decided to keep the two protected in a magic circle while they dealt with the clones. Now, Paige was vehemently protesting. "But I want to hel… Piper, behind you!" She called, watching as Piper quickly turned around and blew another clone up. She tried to stand, but instead, winced as she felt a sharp searing pain shoot up her body. Ignoring it, she screamed a warning to Phoebe. "Phoebe, to your left!"

"Get back down there, Paige!" Piper called out. "Need a hand, Phoebes?" She flung her hands out and vanquished the clone sneaking behind Phoebe.

"Thanks for the save, Piper," Phoebe called out gratefully, as she slammed her fist down the last clone's face. The clone went out like a light, and its body vanished, just like the others. "And that takes care of that." She tucked a strand of her hair that escaped her ponytail and was about to join Piper and Paige, when Melissa's voice echoed around the room again.

"Going somewhere, witch?" Melissa called from behind Phoebe. "The fun's just beginning."

Phoebe turned around and was surprised to see six new clones standing in front of her. And then, to her horror, another six suddenly appeared to her left, and another six to her right. "Uh, Piper?"

"I see them," Piper said, body tensed for action. "Paige, whatever happens, stay inside that circle! I mean it this time!" Without waiting for an answer, Piper sprung forward, thrusting her hands out at the clones and blowing two up in the blink of an eye. She darted forward and threw herself into the battle, alternating between dodging attacks and flicking her wrists. After vanquishing her fifth clone, Piper risked a glance at Phoebe, and saw that she was ferociously fighting the clones tooth for tooth, claw for claw. She saw her wielding one of the daggers now, and knew that her younger sister had somehow wrested it away from one of the clones.

Piper turned her attention back to her own set of foes, when a fist came suddenly from out of nowhere and struck her square on the face. "Ow!" she winced in pain, as she felt the bones in her nose breaking. She wildly threw her hands up, and heard a clone scream as its body disappeared in a flash of red light. She lifted a hand to cover her nose, feeling warm sticky blood trickle down her face. "Great," she murmured. Angrily, she released a series of blasts, vanquishing three clones with a single blow.

Paige noticed that Piper and Phoebe had barely vanquished one third of the clones inside the cramped classroom, when without warning, another group of six clones appeared. She watched, her mouth dropping open in shock, as the number of the clones grew larger and larger; their number, if not their skill, threatening to overwhelm her sisters. _No, no, _Paige thought anxiously, _NO_! Her mind whirled, searching for ways to help her sisters. She scanned the entire room, turning from left to right, then left again, looking for anything that can help Piper and Phoebe- a weapon, potions, anything.

"Piper!" Paige heard Phoebe scream a warning from behind her, distracting her from her search. "Get down!" Paige looked back and saw Phoebe hurl her dagger across the room, hitting a clone that was attacking Piper directly in the chest. _I need to help them, darn it_! Paige thought, feeling helpless and worn.

Frustrated, Paige was about to step out of the circle, when, suddenly, a flash of light on her left caught her attention. Curious, she turned her attention away from the battle and peered through the light blue haze of energy of the protection circle. She squinted, trying to get figure out the source of the light, and gasped as she found out where the flashing light was coming from- the amulet that was hanging on Regina's neck. _What the?_ Paige thought.

The light flashed once, and then winked out so fast that Paige thought that she was seeing things. Rubbing her eyes with a shaky hand, Paige looked again, and saw that the amulet was indeed exuding a pale reddish light, the same light that filled the room whenever a clone got vanquished. _Hmm_, Paige sensed a connection between the amulet and the clones. _Could it be?_ Following her instincts, she waited for the amulet to flash again, and without hesitation, turned back to the fight behind her. At that exact moment, her suspicions were confirmed as six more clones appeared, making the match twenty-four clones- another flash, thirty clones- to two Charmed Ones.

"Aiiii!" Paige heard a clone shriek from behind, receiving the full force of Piper's power. Another shriek, followed by a crude "Oh, crap," from Piper, and then finally followed by a loud crash.

"Piper!"

This has to end, now, Paige resolved. She felt weak and knew that her powers had been greatly weakened, but still she understood what she had to do. You can do this, Paige, just orb the amulet to you, she told herself, knowing full well that she only had one chance to pull off her plans with her weakened magic. You can do this, you're Paige, super witch. She closed her eyes and concentrated, centering all her remaining magic, and summoned the amulet with all the power she could muster. Okay, super witch, here goes. "Amulet," she called out, and after a couple of seconds, the amulet appeared in her hands in a swirl of blue and white orbs. The amulet felt cool and light on her palm, and it gave off a pale pink glow. It can't be, can it? Paige thought in alarm as she studied the amulet, recognizing the runes engraved on it. 

"What the?" Paige heard Phoebe yell in surprise, which made her look up from the amulet. Standing there in front of her, beside Piper and Phoebe, were thirty exact replicas of Paige, wearing the same tattered teacher's robe, even having the same exact fresh wounds.

The clones- all thirty of them- dropped their daggers and looked at the Charmed Ones, their eyes mirroring the surprise in Piper's and Phoebe's eyes. Then, just as soon as the clones had shifted into Paige, they vanished into thin air in a faint pink glow.

Piper and Phoebe looked at each other, and then simultaneously turned, fastening their attention to Paige, who was standing up from within the protective circle. Piper, a hand wiping the blood from her nose, saw that a faint pink light winked from a round transparent stone, a bit smaller than her fist, hanging from a golden cord in Paige's hand. Taking Phoebe's hand, they walked towards Paige, confusion in their eyes.

"Hey, care to explain how you did that whole 'Attack of the Paige clones' thing over there?" Phoebe asked, one of her brows rising in intrigue, as she sat in front of the youngest Halliwell.

Piper sat beside Phoebe, slightly tilting her head to stop the blood flow. "What she said," Piper added.

"With this," Paige said, finally stepping out of the protection circle and leaving Leo alone inside, and sat closer to Phoebe and Piper. She raised her hand and let the amulet dangle loosely from her fist, showing it to her sisters. "The Amulet of Immodore."

"The Amulet of Immo-who?"

"Immodore," Paige repeated. "She was a powerful Mind Witch who lived in the late 1800's. She wielded mind magic- telepathy, telekinesis, cloning. Name every mind-magic there is, she's done it. According to legend, she went on a quest for more power, using her magic for personal gain and dark rituals. She went into the minds of others, absorbing everything she can until there was nothing left to drain. Consequently, she became one of the most wanted witches on the Elders' list. But before she could be arrested and taken into custody, her magic was gone. It was only discovered half a century later that she had actually managed to transfer all of her magic into this," Paige paused, pointing at the amulet. "Instead of enduring the possibility of the Elders stripping her of her magic, she resorted to transferring them into this amulet. Because of its great power, the Amulet of Immodore is considered a forbidden artifact. I don't know how Regina was able to her hands on this."

"And who the heck is Regina?"

"Her," Paige pointed behind her and gasped.

Regina was gone.


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: VampirePrincess. oh i see. hehe im glad that you're still liking my story :) what did you think of Chapter 20? hope you enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it :) _

_here's Chapter 21 for everyone!_

**Chapter 21 **

Piper, Phoebe, and Paige all sat facing one other in a circle, eyes searching the entire room for Regina. A blanket of silence eerily covered the entire room, save for the dull crackling of the leaping flames.

Suddenly, the sound of applause echoed throughout the entire room, seemingly coming from all sides. "Couldn't have said it better myself. And to think that I'm supposed to be the Head of the History Department," Regina's voice boomed from out of nowhere, followed by a high-pitched laugh.

In that same exact moment, before either Piper or Phoebe could react, Paige saw a fireball flying directly towards Phoebe. "No! Behind you!" As if everything were happening in slow motion, Paige leapt, ignoring the pain that shot through her entire body, and pushed Phoebe out of the way. She herself ducked just in time to dodge the fireball. She felt the heat of the burning ball of energy as it flew past her and her sisters, hitting a marble pillar and leaving a trail of black smoke.

"Meddling witches!" Regina screamed as her body materialized, appearing in a swirl of dull gray light. Gathering her strength, she summoned another fireball and sent it flying, aimed at Paige.

"Fireball!" Paige felt adrenaline pumping through her, giving her a temporary power boost. She saw the fireball turn into hundreds of tiny white and blue orbs and, gesturing with her right hand, sent the fireball back to its sender.

Regina leapt, and to Paige's surprise, levitated out of the way of the deflected fireball. "The hell?" _She can't do that! That's not one of her powers!_ Before she could take one step forward, Paige felt Phoebe's hand on her shoulder.

"Great, she's in my element now," Phoebe said, gathering herself, and prepared to levitate herself. She was about to jump, when Paige stopped her.

"No, stay back. This is my fight. This bitch has been after me for as long as I can," she paused, orbing out of the way of an incoming fireball; and orbing back as soon as she had gone, returning in a swirl of white and blue orbs, "remember."

"All right. Be careful." Nodding, Phoebe backed down and somersaulted to her left, dodging yet another fireball. It flew past her harmlessly, but before it could hit anything, Paige called out for it.

"Fireball," she reached with her left hand, summoning the fireball, and sent it back to Regina, using it as a distraction. _Gotcha, _Paige smiled when Regina did an aerial back flip to dodge it. Then, simultaneously, with her right hand, she called for Arachne's Rope, turning the rope into a mass of orbs, and gestured again with her hands. Within moments, Arachne's Rope materialized around Regina's neck.

"No!" Regina screamed as she felt the rope tighten around her neck. She thrashed her arms wildly, as the rope neutralized her powers, and began to fall. A high-pitched scream once again filled the room, as she crashed to the ground with a loud thud. "No!" She began to claw at her neck violently, desperately trying to free herself and her powers. "NO!"

"How does it feel to be on the receiving end, Regina?" Paige asked, her voice harsh and critical. She couldn't control her anger any longer, the tension and anxiety of the previous days- of running, of always looking behind her back, of always being on guard- bubbled up to the surface. "How does it feel to be powerless and bound like that?"

"You!" Regina screamed. "You!" She stood up and, grabbing one of the nearby candleholders, rushed towards Paige in uncontrolled rage. "You've ruined everything!"

Alarmed, Piper poised her hands to freeze Regina; but, before she could freeze her, Paige held out a hand. "No. Please, Piper, this is my fight."

Focusing her attention on Regina, she instinctively sidestepped to her left as Regina neared her, catching the incoming professor off-guard. Then, as swiftly as she had moved, she brought her hand down on Regina's back, hard, knocking her off balance. She automatically assumed a defensive stance, preparing herself for whatever trick Regina had up her sleeve.

Regina lost her balance, and stumbled. Growling incoherently, she quickly rolled away and was soon up on her feet once again. "First blood goes to you, Paige." She glared at her, her blue eyes glinting like icy steel, and grabbed the candleholder once again. Muttering under her breath, Regina threw the huge brass candleholder at Paige, using it as a projectile. As it sailed through the air toward the youngest Charmed One, she hastily removed her long black robe; and, when Paige ducked to get out of harm's way, Regina hurled her robe across the room, using it as a net.

Startled, Paige gave a muffled cry as Regina's robe caught her. No matter how she struggled to get free, the robe clung to her like glue; and, the more she struggled, the tighter its hold got. _Argh,_ Paige thought, _Must be spelled, too_,as she squirmed about.

"You might have bound my powers, Paige," Regina hissed triumphantly, "But I am far from helpless; I still have more magic than you could ever imagine. They have blessed me."

"They?" Phoebe asked. "Who's 'they'?"

Regina turned to the two Charmed Ones and laughed at Phoebe's confusion, "You meddling fools have no idea who you're up against." With that, she reached down into her waistband, and hurled a dagger straight at Phoebe and Piper.

"Woah," Piper exclaimed as she thrust her hands out, freezing the dagger.

_Time to end this_, Paige thought, as a plan formed in her mind. Closing her eyes, she focused all her magic and willed her body to disappear into the familiar white and blue orbs, orbing out of the makeshift net. As the robe sagged into the ground, Paige orbed behind Regina, and outstretched her hand, calling for, "Arachne's Rope!" She summoned the rope, and confident that it was in her telekinetic grip, lifted her other hand, and pointed it at Regina. "Hands!"

At that exact instant, Regina howled in pain. Her hands had been bound telekinetically behind her with the rope. "NO!" She bellowed, a blood-curdling scream erupting from her.

Phoebe and Piper both covered their ears with their hands, but Paige walked directly in front of Regina and leveled her gaze with the bound warlock. Without taking her eyes off Regina, she outstretched her hand once more, and summoned another strand of Arachne's Rope, gesturing at Regina's mouth. Soon, a small piece of the rope appeared and wound itself around her mouth, causing her to stop screaming. Glaring, Paige balled her hand into a fist, and punched Regina in the nose, "I should have done that months ago."

Blood dripped down Regina's nose. "That was for threatening my life."

Phoebe was both surprised and impressed by Paige's outburst. "Nice one, Paige," she said as she took Piper's hand and led her to their youngest sister's side.

"Yeah, you actually beat me to it," Piper looked at Regina, her eyes filled with scorn and anger. Then, without hesitating, she balled her hand as well, and struck Regina in the stomach. "That was for kidnapping and hurting my sister and my husband." She felt her anger slowly draining away as Regina doubled over in pain.

Finally, Phoebe grabbed a handful of Regina's hair, and yanked her head upwards, so that she was face-to-face with Phoebe. Before Regina could focus, Phoebe's hands swiftly came up, slapping Regina's face with the force of a metal bar. "And that, that was for sending that Whitelighter-wanna-be from hell, and ruining our lives."

"Whiteligher-wanna-be?" Paige said, looking at her sister, "You mean, Melissa?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, she's the one who sent Melissa to the Manor, right? I saw it in my vision."

"No," Paige said, making Phoebe's and Piper's brows knit in confusion, "She and Melissa are actually one and the same. She's a shape-shifter, combine that power with this," she paused as she held the Amulet of Immodore, "she was able to send in those clones of Melissa to the Manor. She used her connection as a professor here in Magic School to make sure that her clone would get assigned as your new Whitelighter, to keep tabs on you while she schemed to get me out of the way."

"That's right," Regina said with a sneer, her lips red with her blood. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

Slap! 

Paige's hand flew forward and hit Regina once mores.

"What did she want from you, Paige?" Piper asked, her hands gingerly stroking the small of Paige's back.

"Magic School," Paige said. "She wanted to get rid of me, so that she could take over."

"They promised me power- power beyond your wildest dreams. Don't think that this rope could bind me for so long, Paige. This school will be mine, and there is nothing you can do to stop me," Regina spat.

Paige closed her eyes and willed her tensed muscles to uncoil. "You want Magic School, Regina? You want it so badly?" Paige asked in a low, steady voice, opening her eyes and staring straight into Regina's eyes. "It's yours."

"What?" Phoebe and Piper asked in unison, disbelief and shock making their voice shrill.

Before any one of them could say or do anything else, Piper froze the entire room. "What? Paige! You can't be serious! We can't give Magic School to this… this warlock!"

A small smile tugged at the corners of Paige's mouth. "Relax, Piper, I've got a plan." She took both of her sisters' hands in hers, and led them to the middle of the room, and filled them in on what she had in mind.


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: The last chapter of Teacher's Pet._

Chapter 22

"Ah," Paige stretched, taking in the warm glow of the fireplace in the living room of the Manor. "Dorothy's right. There's no place like home." Pushing back into the sofa, she stretched her legs lazily, not bothering to stifle a yawn.

"You said it," Phoebe said from her place on the floor, hugging a throw pillow. "We missed you, Paige," she added, looking at the youngest Charmed One.

"Really, really missed," Piper chimed in, nursing a cup of tea. She was sitting on the futon, smiling at both Phoebe and Piper, grateful for the rare moment of peace. "Really," she repeated, which made the three sisters burst out laughing.

"But I still can't believe it, Paige. You quit your job as the Assistant Headmistress of Magic School!" Phoebe said, still refusing to believe Paige's decision.

"Well, technically speaking, I am still the Assistant Headmistress. I still have those icky paper to prepare, reports to file. What I'm doing now is just taking a vacation," Paige said matter-of-factly, and yawned again. "She's more of a substitute."

"And what a fine substitute she makes," Piper commented, still incredulous at Paige's choice of the substitute. "A warlock. For crying out loud!"

"Well, Regina won't be posing any problems to us anymore, if you know what I mean," Paige raised her eyebrows and wiggled her nose conspiratorially. A grin spread across her face.

Piper laughed. "You, missy," she said, pointing at Paige, "are a genius." And Piper meant it; Paige was truly brilliant, and she was strongly coming into her full Halliwell heritage.

"Why, thank you," Paige said, laughing along with Phoebe.

Piper took a sip of her tea, and shook her head- the entire memory of what had happened to Regina was still fresh in her mind. Paige's plan had been perfect- it had made sure that Regina got what she deserved, but also followed the Wiccan Rede and the Wiccan Three-fold Rule. Following Paige's plan, the Charmed Ones had set about and had bound Regina's powers, rendering her incapable of casting even the simplest of spells. And then, to everyone's surprise, including Regina's, Paige had assigned the powerless former history professor-slash-warlock as the interim Assistant Head- of the high school department. That meant that, from the moment that her powers had been bound, Regina had to handle all teenaged witch, both male and female, in Magic School. And to make sure that Regina couldn't gain access to dark magic or sway a student to the dark side, Miss Winterbourne and Miss Watkinson, two of the most trusted teachers in Magic School, had been assigned to watch over her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

A loud round of laughter interrupted Piper's thoughts and she turned to see her two sisters, laughing uncontrollably. Piper saw that Paige had almost rolled off the couch, which caused Phoebe to laugh even harder.

"Oh yeah," Paige said, in between giggles, "It's a shame I wouldn't be able to see that bitch handle a class of twenty rowdy and noisy teenagers. Boy, is she in for a treat." She giggled, her body shaking in another bout of laughter.

Phoebe laughed, too, and tried to picture Regina handling a handful of hormonally-challenged teenagers, and saw her icy blue eyes bulging in anger, her veins throbbing in rage. "I would pay good money to see her handle your class, Paige."

The Charmed Ones shared another round of laughter, when Paige interrupted, wheezing and trying to catch her breath. She took in a deep breath of air, attempting to stifle another incoming giggle. "Okay, guys, stop. There's something giggle I need to ask."

Piper held her breath, trying hard not to laugh. "What is it, honey?"

"Well," Paige said, scratching her chin, "While I was in Magic School, Regina kept on babbling about a 'them' helping her. A certain 'they' promising her power. I thought that she was just talking about warlocks or a group of lower level demons, but," she paused, thinking, "those artifacts that she had were pretty powerful. No lower level demon could have gotten those amulets… alive. Any ideas on who these 'they' could be? A group of upper level demons maybe?" Her eyes widened in alarm.

Piper considered her answers, debating with herself whether she should worry Paige with news about the new threat coming. _She's stressed out as it is_, she thought, seeing the disappointment and frustration in Paige's face beneath the mask of laughter over what Regina did; not only to her, but to Magic School as well. She looked at Phoebe, and as their eyes met, she saw that Phoebe was weighing the pros and cons of telling, too. They nodded at each other, and smiled.

"Let's worry about that in the morning, sweetie," Piper said.

"Yeah, we've had enough enjoyment to last two days," Phoebe agreed. "Besides, we're the Charmed Ones. We can handle whatever it is that Hell sends our way."

With that, the Charmed Ones shared a smile, taking in the warmth coming not only from the fireplace, but from one another as well.

Up in the attic, the Book of Shadows glowed, a gold light flashing through the triquetra in the center of the Book's cover. And, as if a gust of wind had blown inside, the yellowed pages began flipping by themselves, the weathered paper turning, until they finally stopped on a page. In bold letters and in an intricate calligraphy, one word was written- TRIUMVIRATE.


	23. Review and Comment Page

A/N: Hey guys! ive finally completed Teacher's Pet. how did you like it?

im going to write a sequel to this, with, yep you've guessed it, the Triumvirate as the big bad. before i proceed though, i would just like to ask for feedback and comments about Teacher's Pet, as a whole. what was your favorite part? did you like the story? was there any part that you didnt like about the entire story?

your comments and reviews would mean **so** much to me. any criticisms and/or review would really help me refine and enhance my writing. so please criticize/review away!

hope to read from you guys soon!

Thank you!

:-D


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